to attract investment into our country and we should continue to target that investment. >> will the prime minister join me paying tribute to the positive role played by trade unions in the work of the automotive council which has brought the renaissance in the u.k. car industry? >> i think the automotive council has been extremely successful. where trade unions play a positive role i will be the first to praise them but where, where, frankly, where frankly we ve a rea where we have a real problem with a rogue trade who nearly product it to its knees. we need a labour inquiry. if they had any curnlings or vision or decision making, they would recognize they have to get to the bottom of what happened. >> this painting was origin nayly painted as my grandmother's white house portrait. in the 1960s, lady johnson looked for portraits to rehang in the white house thinking it was support, and she looked high and low and could not find my grandmother's official portrait. she said, do you know where it is? my grandmother says, yeah, on it's on my wall. >> she said, you shouldn't have it. it belongs in the white house. my grandmother said, no, it's my painting on my wall. eventually, she give up. >> watch the program on our website, c-span.org/firstladies or on c-span saturday at 7 p.m. europe and continue live monday as we look at mamie eisenhower. >> the first formal meeting held monday with many members recommending the automatic budget cuts be replaced. democrats suggested that through closing tax loop l holes while republicans focused on the cost of entitlement programs. this is two and a half hours. >> good morning, this budget committee hear will come to order. welcome to the committee members. the tradition in the committee is that the body hands the gavel over. that's what this is to the new chair, so i am very proud to open this up and following the tradition of the conference committee, it's my pleasure to hand this gavel over to my -- >> thank you. i'll put this somewhere else. thank you very much. welcome, everybody. i see all house members are here, and, well -- [laughter] today we're considering the concurrent resolution and begin with opening statementings, and i recognize myself and senator murray. confer reis are recognized between house and senate, and recognized in order of seniority between majority and minority. the remaining senators will alternate. due to the large number, each statement is limited to five minutes, there is no early bird rule. ab sent member is recognized in the next available slot from their chain. that's how we intend to proceed for the day. before i recognize chairman murray, i want to share a few thoughts with my opening and hold myself to the five minute rule. you'll notice there are three senators for every congressmen. that's an even match as we see it. [laughter] i like to see quality beats quantity, but in all seriousness, we've got work cut out for us. it's not going to be easy, so today i'd like to talk about why we're here and what we need to do. we're here because we want to get an agreement. we have a budget conference. we want regular order. we want to make things work. we want government to work. we want it get something done. for too long both parties ignored the growing national debt. democrats didn't create these problems, and either did republicans. everybody was part of the problem. everybody has to be part of the solution. you've got to make an accurate diagnosis before you fill out a prescription. we got to recognize what we're dealing with. i don't know if the ap is -- we have a av problem. i'll verbalize it. the debt held by the public doubled in the last five years, only getting worse. 10,000 baby boomers retiring every day, social security, medicare, two programs going broke. congressional budget office says if we don't act, we'll have a debt crisis. if that happens, the most vulnerable suffers the first and the worst. this debt weighs op our economy right now, today. it is a drag on job creation today. we can't kick the can down the road anymore. we have to handle the debt and now. from my perspective, simply taking more from the hard working families of america is not the answer. i know my republican colleagues feel the same. i want to say this from the get-go, if we look at this conference as an argument of passes, we're not going to get anywhere. way to raise revenue is to grow the economy, get people back to work. we need a tax code to encourage economic growth that does not stifle it. luckily, democrats and republicans in the house and senate, well, guess what, they are working together to do just that. today there's carveouts and kick backs. we have to get rid of them. with bipartisan talks, that's the way to do it. let's encourage that effort, focus energy on the task at hand, a budget that cuts spending in smarter way. our goal is to grow family budgets. to do that, we have to get people back to work, grow the economy. over 90 million americans are on the sidelines. over a third of the unemployed in the country have not had a job in over six months. household income is done significantly. we may disagree on why the economy is not growing as it should, but i hope we agree the status quo 1 not acceptable. let's work together to provide real relief for families. if we get control of the debt, we grow the economy, restore confidence in washington. the bar is low now, let's clear it. we restore confidence in the community if we do that. today, interest rates are unusually low. if we lock in reforms now, we keep interest rates low to help our economy. this opportunity's not going to last forever. once interest rates rise, they eat up a bigger slice of the federal budget. we know the fed will taper next year sometime. that means interest rates rise. in fact, if we keep kicking the can down the road, at the same times could bankrupt us. structural reforms are crucial to economic growth, and we should agent now to get a down payment on this problem. nobody has to abandon their principles here. instead, what we ought to do is find where we overlap to find commonground. we all agree washington is not working. we all agree that there's a smarter way to cut spending. we all agree our economy could be doing a lot better for the people we represent. we won't solve all differences here or solve our problems, but we can make a good start, and we should because we owe it to the country. let's focus on achievable goals, find commonground, a down payment on the debt, and get the economy growing faster. with that, i recognize chairman murray for her opens remarks. >> thank you very much, chairman ryan. i look forward to working with you and i thank all members of the committee to join us today for opening statements and kick the important conference off. after seeing the partisanship and dysfunction of the last few weeks, i know many people across the country are angry at their legislated officials and skeptical we in congress can get anything done, but i believe that this budget conference offers us the opportunity to rebuild some trust, find a past compromise and work together to create jobs and boost our fragile economy. it won't be easy. it will require both sides to step out of their comfort zone, and ideological corners, and we won't be able to tackle every one of our nation's challenges in the few short weeks, but i hope we can at least show that bipartisanship is possible, that we can work together to solve some problems, and that we can break free from the gridlock and disfunction that dominated the nation's capital for far too long. seven months ago, the house debated and passed a budget. the budget was build on three principles. first, the highest priority investing in jobs, economic growth, and prosperity built from the middle out, not from the top-down. secondly, the deficit has already been cut in half and our budget built on the 2.5 trillion in deaf fit resuction passed since 2011 to continue to tackle the challenge fairly and responsibly. third, our budget keeps promises we have made to the seniors and our families and our communities. the budget that passed the house reflecting different values and priorities and finding a path to a long term budget deal won't be easy. i want to spend time here focused not on our differences, but on how we work together to find a path to compromise. the american people saw the partisanship that shut our government down and pushed our economy to the brink of catastrophe, and they demand democrats and republicans work together and do everything possible to avoid another crisis families compromise every day in their homes and offices. they know it is not easy, but it's the only way to make process and work together when there's not absolute agreement on the path forward so i agree with those who say that the very least this conference should be able to do, the absolute minimum, is to find a way to come together around replacing sequester and set a budget level for at least the short term. this will not be easy. the budgets are different just for this year. if they are willing to move out of their corners and offer up compromises, i'm confident it can be done. let's start with something we agree on. democrats and republicans have said replacing sequesteration should be a priority for the conference. with sequesteration deepening for programs in january and extreme cuts cost jobs and slash investment in our children's schools, cancer research, and in the nation's law enforcement officials, there's clear consensus this is a terrible way to cut spending. as ever member knows. the house and senate budget call for changes to the budge control act and replace it in different ways. the house budget replaces the defense cuts, lifts the bca cap, and pays for that by cutting deeply from key domestic investments. the senate budget replaces all automatic cuts and pays for that with an equal mix of responsible spending cuts and revenue raised by closing tax loopholes that benefit the wealthy and big corporations. getting a bipartisan deal to replace sequesteration is going to require compromise from both sides, no way around it. i'm going into this budget conference ready to agree to some tough spending cuts that unlike the sequester caps that disappear in 2022 would be permanently lockedded into law. republicans are interested in structural changes to programs that save moment. s of the cuts replaced over the coming decades. i'm ready to listen to the ideas and as long as they are fair for seniors and our families, i'm ready to make tough consensus to get a deal, but compromise runs both ways. while we scour programs to find responsible savings, republicans are also going to have to work with us to scour the bloated tax code and close some wasteful tax loopholes and special interest subsidies because it is unfair and unacceptable to ask seniors and families to bear this burden alone. many republicans agree that these loopholes and give aways distort the market, hurt growth, insent vise outsourcing, and hiding profits overseas are just wasteful spending in the tax code and ought to be closed. i hope we can work together to get that done and get to a balanced deal. sequesteration is bad policy, and democrats and republicans have said it's not sustainable. it is going to continue to cost us jobs and cuts vital services until we get a bipartisan deal to replace it that it's fair for seniors and the middle class. i know it won't be easy. compromise by definition requires each side to make some changes they couldn't make on their own, but i think we owe it to the american people to find a way to work together, and i know there are democrats and republicans in the room and outside the room who agree because if there's one lesson to be learned from the past few weeks, it's this. the only way we can avoid gridlock in crisis and the only way either side can get what they want is through compromise and bipartisanship. that's what the american people are expecting and want from this conference, and i am looking forward to getting to work to do that. >> thank you. before i recognize mr. van holen, the next is when the calendar overlaps, and with that, mr. van hollen. >> thank you, good to be on the same table as you, with all the colleagues, great to be here for long overdue budget negotiations. two weeks ago today we ended the shameful government shut down and the threats to the default on our nation's debt. the country has paid a steep price for those wreckless actions. standard and poors estimates the shut down cost the economy $24 billion. uncertainty has cost our country 900,000 jobs since the 2010 election. i hope every member of the committee, democrats and republican alike, put away threats of future shut down and defall and focus efforts to help the economy grow. the house and republican and senate democratic budgets before us represent difference visions of the country. we can want bridge all differences, but i hope we make some progress that requires tough compromises. it is important to be honest with the public about the nature of the differences because to govern is to choose, and our budgets reflect different choices. the primary objection should be to immediately accelerate job growth and place the economy on a stable, long term foundation. the democratic budget does this by investing in national priorities, replacing the job killing sequester, and reducing the long term deaf silt in a balanced way. it provides vital investments to ensure america remains the world's economic power house. we allocate resources to put people to work, mod earnizing our schools, our bridges, our ports, and other infrastructure that forms the backbone of our economy. these investments used to be a bipartisan priority. unfortunately, the republican budget assumes very big cuts in our transportation spending. in fact, it would eliminate the start of new highway projects as soon as 2015. our budget also invests in our nation's most valuable resource. our kids. by boosting support for education including an early education initiative. the republican budget in the house results in the cutting 20% below sequester levels to that part of the budget that funds education. the office tells us the act cuts to defense and priorities result in 800,000 american fewer jobs by this time next year. we know there's smarter ways to achieve deficit reduction without economic harm. in the house, there's a balanced mix of cuts to wasteful spending and cuts to unproductive special interest tax breaks. we've been denied the opportunity to vote on that plan. finally, this committee should continue our work to reduce our long term deaf fits and shrink the debt. over the last few years, we cut the deficit by over 2 #.7 trillion excluding the sequester. three quarters of the savings come from budget cuts, one quarter from revenue. if you factor in the additional trillion dollars in savings resulting from slower than expected health care costs, which are due in part to changes in the affordable care act, the ratio of cuts to revenue is more than 4-to-1. still, we can and should do more, but there are dramatic differences between our budgets as to how we tackle the challenge, the democratic budget indicated adopts the balanced approach recommended by every bipartisan group. the republican budget from the house takes a very different approach. it drops the tax rate for the highest earners by a third providing a wind fall to the top 1%. at the same time, undercuts other important priorityies and commitments. any agreement requires difficult compromises. we should not start the negotiation by taking things offer the table. finally, would one other nationl priority that could get the economy moving, reduce the deficit, and strengthen social security, and that would be to pass the comprehensive immigration bill in the house of representatives. that would accomplish a lot of the goals of this committee, and we simply need a vote to make it happen. i hope we look at all possibilities before us for growing our economy and reducing the long term deficit. thank you. >> thank you. next we'll hear from the ranking member of the senate budget committee, senator sessions. >> thank you. >> [inaudible] >> thank you. in this room are some of the most knowledgeable people in our congress, really, in our nation in the challenges we face economically and with budget and debt, and i believe that we can make some progress as this committee goes forward. the purpose of the budget is to develop a financial plan for the future of america. it's not easy, and our differences are real, and it's difficult to bridge them, but there's actions which we can take that we agree on to improve the financial standing of america and economic growth. it's important that we work at it and the regular process of a budget conference committee is a positive development for sure. our colleague, ron johnson, is a successful businessman, and correctly told us if you want to develop a strategic plan, and we need to, the first thing to do is get in contact with reality and to agree on the problem. for the past five years, we had record deaf fit -- deficits. this stimulus vision, this spending agenda that has been the vision that's governed america that projected and predicted vigorous growth, lasting prosperity has not worked. we've seen it play out. more spending, more taxes, more borrowing, more regulation, in all aspects of american lives have not added to improvement of our economy. we have added 6.9 trillion to the debt. tax, regulations, and debt, we believe, will never work or be the foundation for lasting prosperity and growth. it is a plan guaranteed to fail. your take home pay has fallen for the last five years, anded median household income is lower today than in 1996. we have the lowest labor force participation rate in 35 years, a smaller percentage of americans work today than in 35 years. we have 12 million more residents than in 2007, and what we should do is create the growth oriented tax system that makes america more globally comparative. we have to eliminate unnecessary regulations and produce more american energy. we need to ensure that trade is fair, and our workers can fairly compete, and we have to enforce an immigration policy that reserves our national interest and reject large government programs that we cannot afford that kill jobs and keep us from balancing the budget, and we need to balance the budget. as congressman ryan said, that, in itself, is a strengthening factor that is uneasy today. these are common sense programs that will work. these ideas are consistent with the american ideals that have servedded us so well over the centuries. the budget control act reduced the growth rate of federal spending by 2.1trillion. that is an important first step. after this year, we will see a 2.5% increase in programs afghanistaned by -- affected by the budget control act. this is a tough year. this is the year we will have the toughest time, but after this, growth will occur in our discretionary count. congress and the white house have to keep promises not american people. if we violate the promise contained in the budget control act and the plain law it is, how can we expect the american people to believe us when we make new promises about what we are going to do in the future? no honest evaluation of the nation's finances can ignore the impact of the affordable care act, and my request, gao conducted a legislation that's not paid for as promised and will likely add 6.2 # trillion to the deficit over the 75 year window. we need to be shoring up social security. medicare has a far worse debt core adding 36.2 trillion in unfunded liabilities to the nation. there's no trust fund, in his own particularly unsustainable course, outlays for the program reach 4.3 trillion over the next ten years alone. the budget control act makes spending progress, but it leaves the budget on a path to grow 69% over the next ten years. largely because while it imposes control with certain programs, many mandatory and welfare expenses are left totally untouched. cbo says this path, they told us, is unsustainable. we are not on a sustainable path today. it will create trillions dollar deficits in just ten years, and we'll be back to a trillion dollar annual deficit within temperature years, and the there's a trillion dollars over the levels and raise taxes by a trillion dollars. the truth is we must recognize that the dca is only the beginning, more will have to be done. we remain with it on an unsustainable course. i think there is a different spirit today. i think we have the potential to recognize that differences we have in vision, and somehow we can make some steps that are good for america. mr. chairman, thank you, and chairman murray, for your leadership. >> thank you. the opening statements are over, i intend on enforcing the five-minute rule to accommodate -- [laughter] everybody's schedule here. [laughter] so, hey, it is what it is. [laughter] the senate votes at 10:30. we plan on proceeding. hopefully some can stay while others go to back fill, and with that, i want to recognize the vice chair of the budget committee, dr. price. >> thank you, chairman ryan. two weeks ago, our nation surpassed $17 trillion in debt with millions more on the horizon. the pat threatens our nation, and we are mortgaging our chirp's future. we must act with honest purpose and urgency, and lack of will to solve challenges is immoral and irresponsible. at this point, there's not much to be gained by focusing on who is to blame for the mess. what we should be concerned with is how we clean it up. each and every one of us at the table has been entrusted with that responsibility and this opportunity. i think there's a path to an agreement. we're blessed to live in the greatest country ever, a nation that met every single challenge. we've done so because leaders have worked together and found common ground and solutions that work. our challenges are huge, and they are growing. federal government is spending well over $3 trillion a year. there's recent deficits as high as a trillion and a half dollars, and we continue with annual deficits of hundreds of billions of dollars, still large enough to be singularly unique in the history of the world, and this, in spite of the fact, that the federal government took in more revenue last year than ever. there's also more to this than numbers op a page. today, 20% of children live in poverty, we live on $20,000 a year or less. to make matters worse, life is too painful and expensive for everyone. unprecedented labor force dropouts, ever-increasing costs, skyrocketing health care costs resulting in many of our fellow americans struggling just to get by. washington spends more and more and more, and yet our problems get worse and worse and worse. a bailout for politicians can continue to spend well beyond the means is a recipe for economic pain. the question becomes how do we begin to make government effective and efficient and accountable. there's no question that we must pricket the vital services that government provides. we want to save and secure critical problems for seniors like medicare and social security, programs they paid into and expect to be there, and programs that according to independent actuaries will not have resources to survive if not strengthened. we want to repair the safety net to protect the most vulnerable among us and strengthen national defense so the greatest nation in the world, that the world has ever known, remains strong and independent and free. we want to help grow the economy so that millions upon millions of fellow americans who are unemployed or under employed get back to work to support their families and realize their dreams. our opportunity here today and in the weeks to come is to identify commonground for positive solutions. there may be an opportunity to achieve consensus on better government policies. imagine the savings had if we were serious about identifying real waste in government or fraud that cheats every single american, every single day, and abuse of systems met to help or imagine reforms that concentrated on ending due publictive and redundant programs that do nothing to further original goals. imagine those savings that get away from the we win, you lose mentality here in washington. a friend asked the other day, what are you doing differently today that you with respect doing yesterday? if you're not, why would you expect a different result? let's do something different. let's work together and imagine an agreement by this conference committee that would inspire the american people and begin to rebuild the trust so lacking now and all of us to meet the challenges before us. let's not lose this opportunity. the status quo here in washington certainly is not working, and it's not working for millions of americans who are struggling just to make ends meet. every day that we fail back positively is a day filled with more debt and less security and less opportunity for the american people. i look forward to having us put aside talking points, ignore the routine washington think of we win, you lose, and coming to the to meet this challenge in a way that respects each other, republics our constituents, and the history of our great nation and the leaders who came before. thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you. next. senator wyden from oregon. >> thank you very much, chairman ryan. colleagues, i think senator murray, congressman van hollen are leading democrats superbly. i want to make it clear, the constructive tone from colleagues on the other side is very helpful as well. this budget conference is an opportunity to transition from crisis to consensus. we have to keep our eye on the stark reality. the government shut down has hurt our economy and slowed economic growth. it was mentioned a couple headlines, the one that is particularly painful to me is consumer confidence collapsedded this month, thanks, congress. our first, second, and third priority is to find policies that grow wages, create good job, and help our people. we want to make sure the middle class can stay on the risks of the middle class economic ladder, and we. to help policies that help those that are not there get there and key to this is to provide with our efforts new measures of stability and predictability for our economy. i want to kick off three quick points. the first is taxes. the tax code just turned a hundred, and it looks every day its age. it is a broken, inefficient mess. it's time to clean up, bring it into the 21st century. i want to make it clear i'm totally committed to comprehensive tax reforms, and, also, there's plenty of ripoffs and loopholes for us to close in the meantime without jeopardizing the goal of tax reform. i hope this conference can put our feet in both camps for tax reform and against tax ripoffs. some good places to start. certainly, provisions in the tax code that encourage companies to move investments and jobs overseas is a good place to start with respect to closing the wasteful loopholes and then 1986 colleagues here have discussed in the past is a good model for bipartisan tax reform. second is med tear. the future for medicare in my view is better care at lower costs, and medicare in 2013 is very different than medicare in 196 a. chronic disease, cancer, diabetes, strokes, and heart problems drive medicare like never before. current government rules and practices impeople -- impede abilities to deliver better care at lower prices. congressman paulson and i are working on a bipartisan proposals. i look forward to discussing the questions in the conference. there's a better way, colleagues. there's something in twine slashing benefits. we look forward to working with you on that. third point is fairness question. my view is there has to be parody between defense and nondefense in the overall efforts of this agreement. the rules of the whole sequesteration debate, we know that you walk into a dairy queen, nobody knows what sequesteration is, but they know what fairness is. the rules were you cut defense and nondefense equally to change the rules in the middle of this debate i think would be a very substantial mistake, and it seems to me what we do with respect to defense, adding money there, we have to make an equal commitment to make education structure and science investments that will secure our future. those three areas, taxes, the question of better care at lower costs through medicare reforms and budget fairness strike me as three areas where we can as colleagues have said come together and find commonground. i look forward to working with all of you to do that. >> thank you. member of the leadership team on the democratic side of the house. >> thank you, mr. chairman. the task force of the committee is to agree on a budget for the remainder of 2014. while there would have been prudent to have the negotiations last summer, i am pleased that we are now beginning important institutions about the priorities. we must address the automatic spending cuts that are hurting our economy and undercutting priorities like education, medical research, and national security, but we must put our nation's fiscal house in order and reduce our long term debt to a manageable level. there are different ways to do that, and, of course, some are better than others. on the graph you see on the screens that there are two lines. the red line charts deficit over the past 65 years. the blue line charts the unemployment rate over the same period. the relationship is obvious. when unemployment goes down, the deficit goes down. when unemployment goes up, the deficit goes up. the reasons for this are clear. when you don't have a job, you don't pay taxes. when you don't have income, you are not paying payroll taxes, and you're more likely to need government assistance. unemployment is a double whammy for a federal budget. to lower the deficit, we have to lower unemployment. advocates were expecting deficit reduction from the most vulnerable by cutting benefits under medicare, medicaid, children's health insurance program, nutrition assistance, and other vital services ignoring the fact you just shift costs on to senior citizens, parents, and low income hard working people. these cost shifts take money out of the pockets of consumers that would otherwise be spent in other parts of the economy. they help businesses grow and create jobs. cutting benefits cuts jobs. cutting jobs is not the way to reduce the deficit. securing deficit reduction by cutting key investments in education, pell grants, infrastructure, job training, and research and development hinders economic growth in the short and long term nation and physical and human capital we need to have a strong economy. cutting investment jobs and cutting jobs is not the correct approach. we, democrat, have a different approach. we fully recognize the importance of responsibility, but we know that anybody who cuts that destroys jobs will be counterproductive. we know that cuts that fall disproportionally on our most vulnerable citizens make the economy more vulnerable as well. we know that a reasonable, balanced approach involving shared sacrifice is not only the fairest way to cut the deficit, but it is the most effective. we also believe that high encefers of revenue are fully competitive with strong economic growth. we have seen that tax cuts for the wealthy increased the deficit and do not create jobs. we know that much of the national debt is a result of two wars, and now that we ended one and are winding down the other, significant savings have been generated which i believe should be used to eliminate sequester and target communities that suffer for the last 30 years. they would generate economic growth and begin closing the wealth gap that is threatening family security in our nation's stability. i was pleased to read last week that our colleague, mr. cole, with whom i am sitting with today, who i consider to be a good friend, said the reality is that you're going to have to have a deal here and a deal means everybody gives something up. i agree with my friend. i look forward to striking a deal, protect the economy, protect the vulnerable, and ensure that we must remain on sound, fiscal footing. thank you. >> thank you, going in order. >> good morning, mr. chairman. >> morning. >> it's our intention to address the issues with candor and an open mind and a willingness to listen to the opinions of others. if we are true to that, it will be a refreshing change from the unwillingness, from the shouting past each other that has dominated washington, no , ma'am dated not only our discussions on the floor, but have dominated the talk shows where people are just shouting past each other. you think back to a statement that president kennedy made. he said he preferred not to find republican or democratic answers, but to find the right answers. i hope we take that approach. the only certain hurdle we have to overcome is ourselves. the thing that could derail a bipartisan agreement is a reversion to the display that we've seen excessive partisanship and ideological regidty, so we have a responsibility here to put aside these political differences in favor of finding a bipartisan solution. i'm basically an optimist. i'm optimistic that we're going to find a new bipartisan spirit here, and i'm hopeful that we can talk openly and honestly how to move the country forward. now, there are some of the questions that seem to have obvious answers. for example, we need more targeted budget cuts of wasteful spending coupled with realistic tax reform. who among us does not believe that we cannot do serious tax reform. we need to close some of those loopholes that allow some of the more privileged and the more profitable corporations, a system that allows them to avoid paying taxes, and we need to find ways to prevent things like the so-called offshore tax dives. the difference between the house and the senate is about 90 billion. that's just about what published reports say that the treasury loses each year from offshore tax havens. that's just an example or two that could save more than enough to resolve the differences between us. while we go about trying to negotiate a budget plan, i'd also be mindful -- i ask that we be mindful of the need to support a strong and hopefully a growing instead of shrinking middle class, and the needs of folks on housing and access to affordable health care. this senator does not want to do this on the backs of medicare and social security beneficiaries. let's focus on the problem, not the differences, judge ideas not as republican or democratic, but as a gooded idea or a bad idea. thank you. >> congressman cole from oklahoma. >> thank you, mr. chairman. mr. chairman, the challenges faced in the conference committee are significant. according to the latest cbo, long term budget outlook, from 2009 and 2012, the federal government recorded the largest budget deficit relative to the size of the economy since 1946, and federal debt held by the public is now 73% of gdp. that percentage is higher than any point in u.s. history other than a brief period around the second world war, and it's twice the percentage at the end of 2007. our nation's debt will continue to rise with no end in sight if congress does not act. mr. chairman, there's a real opportunity here to show the american people that we can set aside our differences and negotiate long term reforms. we can succeed where the super committee and other bipartisan working groups failed, but it will not be easy. my friend in the other body have a different proposal from the house position, one that significantly raises taxes, continues funding the affordable care act, and while stabilizing the debt is a percentage of the gdp basically accepts the over 17 trillion dollar of debt already on the books. at the same time, i'm sure there are a number of things in our budget proposals that the senate finds objectionable, like block granting medicaid, premium support for medicare, and balancing the budget within ten years, i'm hopeful this committee can come to agreement on eliminating the cuts associated with sequester replacing them with mandatory spending like suggested by president obama. mr. chairman, we must break the pattern of living from crisis to crisis and relying on short term funding agreements. it's become a habit since the last time both chambers agreed to a budget in 2009. we have to provide appropriations committee with certainty to craft bills that have the possibility of becoming law. we have to find ways to deal with growing debt. there's work to be done ahead to improve the association, and i hope we can find some common reform, and we have to provide a better fiche for children and grandchildren, but negotiations and reforms don't end in the committee. this is the starting point that encourages congress to acknowledge and address our debt. as appropriation -- as the appropriations committee demonstrated, we can cut spending, and, in fact, we cut the spending in each of the last three years, a feat not accomplished since the 1940s, but, mr. chairman, with all do respect it's tim -- time to do the same. spending programs and net interest on the debt compromised of three quarters of all federal expenditures. iat the same time, the over 200 tax expenditures amount to 12 trillion over a ten year budget window. i find it hard to believe that every one of these expenditures is necessary or could not be limited in some manner. mr. chairman, i've been quoted as saying that revenue should be on the table in the course of the conference committee, and i believe that it should, but not in the way that some of my friends from the other side suggest. i think tax rates are already extraordinarily high for hard working american families. however, there's a number of progrowth policies that if enacted generate revenues for the federal government and grow economy, policies like the corporate profits from overseas, oil and gas exploration, out of shore, federal lands, and one time federal asset sales and the like. more revenue doesn't and shouldn't mean higher taxes. at the same time, i believe this committee should set forth a path to allow for expedited tax reform proposal. it's been over 25 years since we've taken a comprehensive look at the tax code, and in that time, the fontsmental nature of the economy changed. it's important that our tax code now reflect priorities of the 21st century. americans want solutions that reduce the deficit, overhaul the current tax system, create jobs, spur growth, and preserve the full faith and credit of the united states. the political philosopher once said, quote, all government, indeed every human benefit and enjoyment, virtue and prudent act is founded on compromise and barter. while republicans maintain the majority in the house in the last election, democrats maintained a majority in the senate, and the president was reelected. no party gets everything it wants, and no side can dictate to the other. sadly, compromise has become a dirty word in washington; however, it's necessary in divided government; otherwise the american people are the ones who lose. now is the time for us to show the american people that even in divided government, we can find ways to function, achieve commonground, and make all voices heard and considered. i look forward to working with my friends in both chambers and both sides of the aisle to find common ground to avoid a debt pat which the cbo calls unsustainable indefinitely. i yield back. >> thank you, perfect timing. ?afort grassley. >> mr. chairman, there's a great deal of comedy expressed here, and i hope it's successful in getting us together, so i'm glad to be here to work with our house colleagues to reconcile differences on the 2014 budge. this is regular order, and in recent years, regular order is an oddity. our country is on an unsustainable fiscal course, and this the first time since 2009 we worked together to reconcile. this is just the first step of the conference. i make a simple request regarding process. the people's business ought to be public. we've got important and difficult matters before us. the deliberations shouldn't be done in the dead of the night in the back room with only a few individuals. to regain trust of the american people, we must demonstrate working together to confront our fiscal challenges. this is much -- there's much sip schism among the populist about what's going on in washington. part of the cynicism, i believe, comes from the fact that many of the recent budget deals have been concocted in the back office of a few leaders and members were left to take it or leave it. they were not debated. there was no deliberation. nearly no one had an opportunity beforehand to read them. this is a terrible way to govern. it's part of the reason people don't trust washington to do what's right. we should use this budget conference to change the perception and hold meetings in public. the president and the senate democratic leadership have insisted upon a balanced approach to replace the sequester cuts. this so-called balanced approach would increase tax increases with pending cuts, and the problem is simple. the fiscal problems facing the federal government are not balanced, and the problem is not that we tax too little, but it's that we spend too much. the offer of the so-called balance plan is wrong headed, and the problems we face are caused by one-sided problem, and that is too much spending. the congressional budget office projects that by 2038 federal spending will be 26% of gdp compared to the 40-year average, 20.a. spending on health care entitlements and social security double over the next 25 years. as a result, deficits continue to grow and the resulting debt will grow faster than gdp, a path which is unsustain closing tax. cbo's projection include revenues higher than the historic average. there is -- there is the root of the problem, spending growth out paces higher revenue. the president talks a great deal about growing our economy, creating jobs, growing the middle class. i don't believe that we need to grow government in order to create jobs. to grow the economy, or increase the prosperity of americans, a more prosperous america does not result from an ever-larger, more intrusive government. president kennedy knew the virtues that wealth left in the hands of entrepreneurial americans create jobs, spur economic growth, and grow the economy. president kennedy stated this in 196 #2, the tax system, quote, exerts too heavy a drag on growth in peacetime that is siphons off the private economy too large a share of personal and business purchasing power, that it reduces the financial incentives for personal effort in investments and risk taking, enof quote. the senate budget, i propose, increases taxes by $1 trillion. president obama got his tax increase on the fiscal cliff deal of january 20 spending cuts. we increase taxes on job creating americans by 600 billion. now is the time to focus on the other side of the ledger, the spending side. i remain cautious about plans to trade spending reductions that are in the laws as a result of the budget control act for the promise of spending cuts or entitlement reforms at some future date. i will not entertain so-called balanced plan that puppishes small business and job creators with higher taxes and exchange for minor entitlement reforms that do not change the deficit or the debt trajectory of our country. if we're going to inform -- reform our programs to ensure viability for future generations, we should do just that. president obama's budget could be a starting point and should be considered. i'm aware that there is a great deal of angst surrounding the impending sequester cut, particularly those in defense, but i'm satisfied that defense is not a sacred cow that can't have innumerable savings as well. i'll close saying if we could get the department of defense to have an accounting and audit practice and an up-to-date audit control system, we'd have less waste there. i'll put the rest of the statement in the record. thank you. >> thank you. >> thank you, mr. chairman, i come to the conference with the per speckive of two decades on the appropriations committee. our priority must be to continue to grow the economy, create jobs, and strengthen the middle class while reducing the deficit in a balanced and responsible way. the wreckless government shut down and threat of default caused 24 billion dollars in economic activity and 120,000 jobs. now, looming reductions in the house budget and appropriation bills further threaten economic growth. we have a mandate from the american people to ensure that we do not face another shut down or default show down, and there is bipartisan support for ending automatic drastic cuts that cost 800,000 american jobs next year if left in place. the house majority could not pass any spending bills at the sequester levels. when republicans pulled the transportation hud bill from house consideration, chairman rogers said, quote, with this action, the house declined to proceed on the implementation of the very budget adopted, just three months ago. the house has made its choice. sequestering and ill-conceived cuts must be brought to an end, end quote. let's consider some of the sequester's impact on jobs and the economy. 1.55 billion less for the national institute of help to conduct ground breaking medical research, every dollar of which generates, and supports high paying jobs, and 57,000 fewer children and head start resulting in 18,000 staff members suffered pay cuts lost their jobs. 650,000 department of defense employees furloughed resulting in $2 billion in lost wages around the country. 2,000 fewer national science foundation competitive awards affecting more than 21,000 researchers, teachers, students, and technicians. 221 million dollars less for the department of energy's office of science risking among other things the united states leadership role in advanced computing. the return on investment for publicly funded scientific research and development is somewhere between 30% and 100% or more. at a time when economic success in the global market is determined more than ever by the pace of innovation, we can want afford to reduce our investments in research. these cuts which will only get worse are forcing impossible choices for american families. should mothers quit their jobs when their chirp lose access to head start? should promising young students rethink a career in science because of a lack of available research dollars? in addition to furloughs for defense employees and reductions to military readiness, the department of defense will lose 20 billion more in mid-january if we don't act to avoid another year of sequester cuts. everyone in the conference has reason to find commonground. we have already enacted 2.5 trillion in deficit reduction of which 1 #.5 trillion has come from discretionary spending. that doesn't even include across the board reductions. let's work together. let's work together again to replace the automatic spending cuts that are hurting jobs and our economy with a balanced plan that slashes spending on wasteful special interest subsidies and tax loopholes that allow a select few to avoid paying their fair share. finally, i hope that we will hold a number of open sessions to discuss proposals in considerable detail so that we really understand how they would affect ordinary people and american prosperity. thank you. >> thank you. >> thank you, mr. chairman. americans are tiredded of the habitual promises congress makes to fix our growing national debt. this conference committee is another one of the promises. this was part of the promise that if members supported more borrowing, then we'd talk both how to control spending. did we hear from the president, the same thing. raise spending limits, spend more, then talk about it later. i'll tell you from the start that that was not good enough for me before, and it's not good enough now. if we work together, we can control spending without it being a make it hurt menialty, but it we don't, we're all in for a real hurt. it's time to move forward. let's do something. our goal during this conference should be to find common ground op solutions that address our country's annual deficits and perhaps the 17 trillion growing debt. we shouldn't be in the situation we're in. the government should not have shut down. in the senate, we should have brought up the spending bills op the floor, hopefully one a week, and we would have had time to debate measures, offer amendments, and improve the bills. no one senator or no one party has a moo notary monopoly on go. we have another deal that raise the the debt limit and did nothing to address the underlying spending problem nor give state to agencies. we got to start legislating and stop deal making. i hope we can at least make a small move in the direction with this conference committee. i've got several idea how to keep us out of the situation we were just in and make reasonable, but real progress on our deficits and debt. i have a penny plan, an idea on the budgeting, and relative adjustments on spending bills, and the shut down bill and forced priorization and tax reform. i'd like for us to consider the penny plan that overall spending is cut by 1% for two years and balances the budget so that we descroant to raise the debt ceiling. we have to stop spending more than we take in and find a way to pay down 17 trillion in growing debt. the penny plan does not mandate any specific cuts. congress would have the authority to make targeted cuts and focus on the worst first. what would be required is to meet the 1% overall cut. everything would be on the fable, and i argue we should focus on identifies and eliminating all the wasteful and duplicated spending that occurs in washington before looking to new programs and services. let's not make cuts hurt, but be smart about spending cuts and prioritize how we spend taxpayers' dollars. i have a biannual appropriations bill that allows for each bill to be taken up over a two-year period. with the more controversial bills being taken up after elections, and the easier bills, taken up before the election, the next election. this allows us to get into the spending details more, and we have a trillion dollars in spending, and that's a lot of money in which to make annual decisions. we could eliminate duplication, give agency state for two years instead of one. let's stop making spending cuts hurt. get rid of what we don't need and live within our means. i want to thank my colleague, senator portman, for his leadership on the end government shut downs act. i'm a cosponsor of the legislation that keeps the government open in the event of a lapse of funding, but which cuts 1% a quarter until each spending bill is enacted. the smart piece of legislation to bring people to the table to work out differences on the spending bills. what if we do them one at a time and allow amendments that speed up the process, but allow scrutiny beyond the appropriations committee. we don't have a spending problem -- we have a spending problem, we don't have a revenue problem. [laughter] tough for accountants. we don't need to raise taxes in order to spend more. we can want spend our way to prosperity. i'm a member of the finance committee. open the doors for senator baucus to move forward. make it happen. if done correctly, tax reform creates revenue in economic growth to reduce deficits and pay down the debt. i'm ready to make it happen. my international tax plan repatriates money and brings money back for jobs and scores positive. some think all that is needed is to replace the years automatic spending cuts of sequester. we have to prioritize cuts, find the spending cuts that do the least harm and start there. i worked in wyoming, and it worked there, and it can work here. our governor was faced with an 8% cut. he had every agency list at 2%, 4%, 6%, and 8%, and compared the lists to see what they really thought ought to be cut. we can do that too. raping in out of control spending should be the path forward. our nation's over spending has to stop. the latest congressional budget office estimate show deficits and nation as debt get worse if we don't take action now, make cuts now, and all the scenarios down the road are worse than what we face now, a little pain now is better than a lot of pain in the future. i look forward to a robust debate on fiscal path forward. i yield the floor. >> thank you. representative black from tennessee. >> thank you, mr. chairman. from the start of the process, we are asked of our expectations of the conference. they want to know what expectations are for reaching a deal. this is not surprising as already been said, anyone who looks at the proposals forwarded by the house and senate and see there are significant differences, but these differences really are only half of the story. instead of focusing on the differences, we should focus on areas where we agree. after all, we all agree that our debt and deficits need to be addressed. we all agree that our economy is not growing nearly as fast as it should be. i think we all agree that the best way to address these issues is through this process, through the regular order instead of the temporary short term government funding measures. as a member elected in the wave of 2010, i came to washington to work with my colleagues to make tough decisions and protect the future of our country. my constituents sent me here to work towards solutions, reign in out of control spending, and pursue policies that help our economy grow. our nation is now more than 17 trillion in debt, and our economy so sluggish that a record 90 million americans remain on the sidelines not even looking for jobs. household income are at historic lows and unemployment remains up acceptably high. we need to get americans back to work. getting control of the debt helps the economy grow, and we know growing the economy is the best way to increase revenue and reduce our deficits. i have three children, six grandchildren, of which i'm very proud. everyday i worry about what this country will look like for them when they are my age. i'm sure most of my colleagues in the room have a similar concern about the future for their families and also for the american families all across the country. my expectation is that everyone in this room works together to help secure a future and make a down payment on the debt. our expectation is that we work together to identify mutual achievement goals, and we have to get americans back to work, and at the end of the day, i map to tell my children and my grandchildren that i did everything i could to preserve the dream for them and for all americans. my expectation is that everyone on this budget conference will be able to say the same. i'm grateful to have the opportunity to join everyone here at the table and i look forward to spending the time over the next several weeks finding the common ground, and i want to thank congressman ryan and senator murray for your leadership. thank you, and i yield back. >> thank you. senator stabbenow. >> thank you. i want to thank you for the important leadership as well, and critical we sit down in a bipart sapp way to focus op priorities as a nation. we know the government has to do more with less. good news is, we are. we are streamlining government by getting getting rid of programs and policies that don't make sense. we already cut $2.5 trillion from the $4 trillion everyone talks about as a goal over the next ten years. together, we have the opportunity to take the next step one to use smart decisions, not wreckless ones. we took the approach on the senate foreign bill. when it becomes law, it reduces the deficit by 20 billion consolidating and streamlining programs ending wasteful subsidies and eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse while setting the right priorities for farmers and families. i served in the house with many of you. the last time we actually balanced the budget, president clinton was in office, and we balanced the budget for the first time in 30 years by making tough choices to grow the economy and strengthen middle class, and we can do it again with a m, balanced plan that does not sacrifice the future, opportunities, or prosperity for middle class families. as you know, a budget is a blue print of the country we want to build together. it's a statement of the national priorities, and for me, the most important goal is to make sure the right people and the right priorities are at the front of the line. that means making sure our children have access to a quality education from preschool to college. it means that when those children grow up, they get good paying jobs to own a home and buy a car and raise a family. it means rebuilding our middle class by creating jobs and opportunities for small businesses, advance manufacturing, innovative jobs to fuel the economy for kids to come. it means standing up for our seniors and retirees protecting medicare and social security benefits they have earned, not that they are entitled, they is earned after a lifetime of hard work. this budget needs to be about jobs and our economic plan for moving our country forward because, frankly, we're never going to get out of debt with more than 11 million people out of work. to move our country forward, it's essential that we stop the wreckless policy of sequesteration. the sequesteration blindly cuts everything, things that are working, things that are not, things that important, things that aren't. yet wreckless cutting health care for veterans, slashes funding for life saving medical research, cuts investments in education and innovation, and because of that wreckless approach, we have seen sluggish job growth that is holding our economy back. that makes absolutely no sense, mr. chairman. i strongly agree with chairman murray that our number one goal needs to be replacing the wreckless sequester policy with a balanced, smart plan that continues the work we have done on deficit reduction while growing the economy for the future. i look forward to working with our conference committee, and all colleagues on both sides of the aisle, and, frankly, people across america are urging us to come together as we know to pass a bipartisan budget, and they are urging us to put middle class families at the front of the line. thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you. we are finished with the house members, so we'll go over to mr. crapo. >> >> thank you very much, mr. chairman, and, chairman mor murray. i listened to the comments made today, and i'm heartened by the fact everyone recognizes we need to come together to find consensus and common ground between us as we move forward. senator wyden mentioned we turn the current crisis into consensus, and we have that opportunity. it's important to recognize some of the facts we have to deal with as we achieve that. i've started to hear talk not among us here, but i heard talk recently that we don't really have a debt crisis anymore, that the congress has been responsible in the past few years. we passedded two and a half trillion of the four trillion needed to achieve, and that we are well on the way now to climbing out of the problem that we face. we have a debt crisis, and the two and a half trail is essentially made up of five or 600 billion dollars of tax increases, and the budget control agent was passed in the face of the last fiscal crisis in 20 # 11 that requires congress to stick to that budget for temperature years. anybody watching congress and budgets knows the budget they had is deplorable, and one of the things i think we ought to focus on is making sure that this $2.5 trillion we talk about is maintained. we have actually, and i think remarkably, stayed to that budget for the last couple years to the budget control act, and as a result of that, at least with regard to discretionary spending, we are now starting to bend the curb down. as i understand it, we are actually, if you stay on this course, are spending less in real dollars, less in real dollars, in this fiscal year, than we have in just a few years past. a may markble achievement, but one to be main tapes. i think as we talk about how to move forward, one of the first objectives to have in the conference is to protect and assure the reality of the fiscal reforms that we already had in place. what am i talking about? i'm talking about focusing on not just numbers in the spending, but focusing on processes one of the best things to do is establish processes to move forward and assure and protect the existing achievements made, budget enforcement processes that help us assure that congress sticks to the agreements it makes on the budget, and then set forward some processes to help us move into the larger what has been called grand bargains. i know we don't have the time in this committee to put together the kind of large deal that involves the tax reform, the entight 8 -- entitlement reform, fiscal reform, and budget enforcement reform that all of us know needs to be done, but we can set up processes to help us assure that tax reform that we all talk about in our work does move forward and move forward promptly. processes that assure will not break the budget as it has almost a perfect record of doing. processes that help us deal with future lapses in spending and potential government shut downs in the way that senator portman's bill and others have proposed, to help us get a functioning and smoother process to deal with these crisis points that we seem to lurch between. processes to help us deal with these -- the debt ceiling as we reach the debt ceiling, and hopefully help us reduce the stress that we put on our economy in the political battles that we have here. i believe that we have a remarkable opportunity to focus on fixing some of the rules, some of the processes by which we function in the congress in a way that will help us increase our ability to save the -- to protect the savings that we now have and to achieve further and greater savings as we move forward. i would just encourage as we work on all the other parts of the budget and all the other parts of the fiscal reforms necessary, that we focus on laying the foundation for much greater and more effective results as we move forward beyond the activities of the committee. thank you. >> thank you. senator sanders. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. thank you, senator murray. i think this has been a very good discussion, and i hope that we can continue to have more open discusses because i think there are a lot of good ideas around this room, but let me begin my remarks with ad rates rise call proposal, if i might. let's listen to what the american people tell us. at a 10% favorability rating, it's a good idea too -- to do that. way are the american people telling us? in poll after poll after poll, what they are saying is do not cut social security, do not cut medicare, do not cut medicaid. that's what all the polls are telling us. the last one is the national journal saying 81% of the american people do not want to cut medicare benefits at all, and 76% of the people do not want social security benefits cut, and 60% of the people do not want to cut medicaid at all. what else are they saying? they say, yeah, deficit is a serious issue, and as senator crapo said, we have the deficit in half, not bad. what else we want to do, in every poll i have seen, what is the top issue? the economy and it is jobs. representative black made a good point. real unemployment in the country is not 7.4%, but close to 14% if you include people who gave up looking for work and are working part time. youth unemployment, and the pope, by the way, talks about this a lot. youth up employment is close to 20%, and african-american youth is over 40%. you know what the american people tell us in polls? they say invest in the economy, create the millions of jobs that we need. use government funds to rebuild infrastructure. that's what the american people are telling us. i think all of this comes from the fact that we do not talk about enough, and, certainly, the media doesn't talk about it but the american people, what do they see in the economy today? they see a middle class disappearing, 46.5 million people live in poverty, the highest we've been, while the wealthiest people in the country and largest corporations are doing financially well. when the american people look around and talk about deficit in jobs, what do they say? they say do not balance the budget on the backs of the vulnerable people, the elderly, the children, the sick, working families, and the poor. you know what they say in polls and town meetings? they say when the top 1% in the last few years have received 95% of all new income, you know what they say? ask the millionaires and billionaires to pay more in tax. ain't going to hurt them. you know what else? when we have record breaking profits in corporate america, when wall street, bailing out years ago, is now doing financially well, when one out of four corporations in the country does not pay a nickel in taxes, then maybe it might be time to look at the large profitable corporations to start paying their fair share. who in this room is going to defend a situation where we lose a hundred billion dollars a year to park profits in the island and not paying a nickel in federal income tax. who thinks that's a good idea? there was the defense budget, we are now spending almost as much as the rest of the world on defense, and we are not fighting the soviet union, but al-qaeda. the department of defense can't give us an audit. do you think we can't cult money into the defense department? i think if we look at a just, moral solution, and good economic sense, i think we can do deficit reduction. we have to do that, but i think we also got to create the millions of jobs that the american people understand we need to create. with that, mr. chairman, i yield the floor. >> thank you. senator graham. >> >> i disagree with virtually everything he said. [laughter] that brings us to what we are trying to do here, reconcile his world view with mine. they are different political planets here, but what's the nature of the problem? i mean, either we have almost a 17 trillion dollar debt or we don't. we do. the question is why, and how do you turn it around? as you look down the road, what drives the debt? 8 o million baby boomers, mr. chairman, are going to, madam chairman, mr. chairman, whoever is running this thing -- [laughter] are going to retire in the next 30-40 years. who replaces them in the work force? that's why i think we need rational immigration reform because our population growth is stagnant. when you combine the unfund little bits these two programs, it's well over $50 trillion, and if you care about social security, we ought to try to save it. if you care about medicare and structural change it to be around for people after we're gone, and if you make $250,000 a year in retirement, the federal government subsidizes your medicare part d and d premium $108 a month. is that smart? they don't want a change in medicare? if you ask that, they say yes. i don't make $250,000 in retirement, but if i didn't, -- did, i don't want money flt government to subsidize a premium i can pay. if that's too much for the country to bear, our best days are behind us, but it's not. the country will do what's required of the country because every generation before us has. every generation before us has fought whatever war they had to fight, get through whatever problems they had to pass on to the next generation a chance to do betterment there's two visions. our house friends cut have tax reform without raising revenue. you take the money we have and change the tax rates, lower rates to create jobs like senator sanders wants in the democratic friends over the next decade increase by $900 billion. the house republican bill reduces spending by 4.6 trillion. over the next decade, democrat friends increase. two different views of where we want to go and how to create jobs and what the proper sustainable role of the federal government. pledge to do this, not shut the government down. we're on different planets, but between now and january 13th, i hope we find a way to fund the government through september. that would be good for all of us, and we're not going to be able to reconcile visions, but we should be able to fund the government. as to the defense department, you say it is well-funded. i say we're on a course to gut the community in the next decade at a time needed the most, and historically 4% of gdp, five spent on defense at the end of the sequester, and year ten is well under three. the next decade, a decade of safety for the american people? we're, again, on different planets. i look at the next decade as a challenge to keep radical islam from acquiring weapons that could kill millions of americans, not thousands. the reason americans died on 9/11 is because they didn't have the weapons to kill 3 million of us. if they could, they would. iran wants a nuclear weapon. syria is fractured and chemical weapons abound in the middle east, syria, and god knows where they wind up. i argue our intelligence community and defense department is going to be crippled beyond measure if we continue with sequesteration, but having said that, a deal is a deal, and we hold the numbers. there's a reasonable entitlement reform to replace defense and nondefense sequesteration over the next 30 years. you can look out and see how much money you save, take pressure off the nih as well as dod. i hope we can do that. maybe we won't do that between now and january, so to my colleagues, find a way to fund the government in the next coming year, and bridge the gap bernie sees and lindsey sees because if we can't bridge the gap, the best days are behind us, and that would be a shame. >> thank you. senator whitehouse. >> thank you, mr. chairman. we are still recovering from the worst recession of our lifetimes, and a fool hearty shut down. a harmful budget sequester is eroding our economy and a debt limit once again looms, and we have serious work to do. in poll after poll, americans are clear the most urgent issue facing their families is the weak economy and lack of jobs. unfortunately, federal budget policy in recent years has been dragged down the dangerous austerity pat and largely ignored the role that, for instance, infrastructure, research, and energy efficiency can play in supporting our economy and jobs. europe's austerity experms inflicked significant harms while not delivering the promised budget improvements. at home, the dangers of budgets show in the sequester, which to its credit was designed to be stiewppedz and pain -- stay tuned and -- stupid and painful. in august, i heard about layoffs in the defense industry, civilian personnel forced to take unplaid leave, children unable to enroll in head start, and a cruel $40 a week cut to unemployment insurance while my state is hovering at 9% unemployment. actual unemployment is higher. we also hear about more lasting damage, karen, the director of research development in our university of rhode island saying, i'll quote her, these budget cuts are inside yaws because we don't feel consequences for a few years, and when we do, it's subtle, but devastating in the long run, abscess of innovation at the face we've come to expect and like deferred maintenance that seems inknock yows now, but it bites us several years from now. we can recover from a single year of treading water, but if this keeps up, the nation's scientific research enterprise will erode. .. >> what has been at zero through this exercise is another cost of spending. we have done nothing on federal spending to the tax code and i say to all of my fellow people, you cannot honestly say that the deaths in deficit our mortal threats to our nation and at the same time, less important than every tax loophole in the code. that cannot be our position. our senate budget generates $975 billion from loophole closing, and i would urge everyone to take an honest look at this untouched form of tax spending due to the tax code. the tax loophole that i would like to get rid of our ones we should get rid of anyway. companies should not be rewarded for shifting assets to foreign countries and billionaire should not pay lower taxes than brick masons. correcting these laws would be fair and help us how best to create jobs and grow the economy. i will close on health care and the delivery system that is enormous. from the president council to former secretary o'neill, to the institute of medicine, and made this in nationwide health care savings. it is likely by improving the quality and experience since over 40% is several, that means huge potential savings and according to cbo progress has begun. since 2010 when the bowles-simpson commission recommended we cut our deficit by $4 trillion, we had dropped by $1.2 trillion. central savings that had not been included with the official deficit reduction tallies and i look forward to working with you on both sides support policies and deliver the savings of health care that americans deserve. >> senator warner. >> thank you, senator murray. i have been listening to a lot of our colleagues around the table and there are some agreements and obviously some major challenges of disagreements. i have three touchdowns but i hope that will come out of this effort. let's agree to do no harm. which would mean, and i think we have heard this from a lot of folks at another government shutdown threatening the united states of america does no good at all. that presents an enormous economic crisis and i think that we have our numbers and was unnecessary and unprecedented and we actually furloughed three american nobel peace prize winners in physics. a and you kind of wonder what the folks in china around the rest of the world bank when we were for allowing those kind of american assets and i can assure you that those countries did not put this on hold during a period of dysfunction. let's remember that sequestration was supposed to be at up to be so bad that no rational group of people would let it happen and i think that there is a way that we can find ways to replace it. i think that some of the senator's comments is almost like a cancer inside and way i have a little bit of ground zero because of our combinations with the military and what we are doing in terms of hurting military readiness they are not able to do the long-term purchase contracts and the dod is totally a responsive. i know a lot of us like to cite business experience and i'm so proud of the fact that i am on this site and my time in business was mostly spent a semester and if you look at any investing on any business plan come you look at three things, you look at a company's plan for workforce and a companies plan for investment in equipment and a plan on how they are going to stay out of the competition and countries have a business plan as well. and we have education, training, infrastructure, and end the government does provide a framework in those areas to allow the private sector to prosper and unfortunately, if we go forward with approaches that cut those areas of investment in infrastructure, we are not going to have a business plan that will allow our country to prosper. so let's find a way that we can find no common agreement to make some investments. and this is a little bit of script, but i actually hope that we might be able to exceed expectations and i think we have done an appropriate job of simply awaiting crisis and it might be due to success and i think that we might not get to the so-called grand bargains and we may end we will have this on the defense side or the nondefense side. and i would say that we need to hear these constant references with the revenue totals, i just think that it refuses to recognize some of the fundamental changes in where we are. not just in america, but all across the world. and increasingly, the public sector will pick up this and because we have been blessed with a much longer lifetime, even with entitlement reforms, they will be greater than we have seen in the past because of 80 plus year expectations and i hope and pray and and republicans are going to have to deal with revenues and we ought to be willing to at least grow our economy. and there would be nothing of more job creation and economic growth. and i think that we can do that and exceed these expectations. >> thank you for laying out the macro challenge that we have faced and i won't repeat that. i will second my friend from virginia's hope that we can achieve something broader than the more modest goals we have been discussing but i also suspect that a grand bargain of a large magnitude will probably end there are three modest but achievable goals that have all enjoyed bipartisan support at various levels in the recent past. so i would like to walk briefly through what those goals are. i would like to say that i think it's vitally important that we preserve the savings that are embodied in the dca and let's remember return for adding $2 trillion of debt to the nations growth in discretionary spending over 10 years and return for that. and i would -underscore the fact and more has it ever been, it is a private sector that is a source of wealth and employment and innovation and job growth in government was off that and to the extent that we can curb the size and spending of government, we will have more prosperity and job growth and a higher standard of living and that is why we keep this that we have agreed to and the president obama signed into law 2011. and this puts us on a more sustainable and reasonable trajectory if we had grown discretionary spending since 2000 at the rate of population growth plus inflation, we would've been on that dotted line. and what they do is they'd return us to that victory over time and i will be the first to say that i'm very open to alternative ways to achieving this discipline. we have exactly this mechanism and i think it's vitally important that we achieve the savings and the second point is i was not in favor of the strategy that led to the shut down. but when we got there, this manufactured crisis and let's acknowledge the fact that no one of us can control the appropriations process and since we can't control that process, let's change the mechanism that would prevent this from ever happening. senator portman's bill that simply says that in the event that is past the appropriation bill, let's take a government shutdown completely off the table and let's just continue at the previous level until that we should have passed and finally we also know we have a dynamic where the appropriation bills might exceed this benincasa. and if they do, we have a mechanism that is highly sought after and across-the-board spending cut and i am an advocate for those who need to make the spending cuts within the caps and let's allow them to use the common sense reviews and cut the least important things and preserve the most important things and it is not true that all federal spending is equally important. and so let's get the administration some flexibility and we had a big argument on the sequester first kicked in earlier this year and some threatened that it was going to be a catastrophe they had delivered the cuts and it turns out that a bipartisan bill signed into law by president obama, giving the faa authority to have flexibility allowed them to get through the sequester with no furloughs or layoffs or canceled flights and no disruptions. that could be applied more broadly and we can achieve it in a more sensible fashion. so i hope that we can work together with ambitious goals and i hope that we can achieve this, the savings and flexibility in preventing government by this. >> thank you. >> thank you, chairman. we are taking a pastor and enhance the success of american families. we have externship that is manufactured here in the capital and have done the system. the debt limit debate to the $24 billion loss during the government shutdown, missed opportunities to address our real challenge is in washington's dysfunction has detracted from the areas that matter most to families across this country and the economy and jobs. the families live in my neighborhood are worried about holding onto a job if they are so fortunate as to have one and they are worried about how to afford this and whether kids will have a big debt and no job when they graduate. they are worried about retirement. the families live in my neighborhood like working families across this nation are disturbed and angry to see our government lurching from crisis to crisis in these crises must end. but avoiding the shutdown is not enough. it is something that makes our economy kick and a good job and infrastructure with affordable high-quality education and middle-class working americans. and let's examine our priorities as folks on both side of the aisle have suggested. especially when we can't fund the infrastructure and maintain existing infrastructure for manufacturing and success here in america. and those empty chairs for the next generation should haunt us. we will lose the middle class that has made america if we are not careful, it has made is the greatest economic engine in the world and crashing the american dream for millions of working families while giving away the national treasury to the fuel is unacceptable. let's be clear that we can invest in america and simultaneously reduce the deficit and indeed, growing a successful economy and creating a job puts these two goals together. driving american families and reducing the deficit and a compatible framework. and i stand ready, as i know everyone here does. work within us conversation and dialogue to find a path forward. the american people expect us to find common ground. we were are committed to rebuilding the american class. thank you. >> thank you. mr. chairman, i have a statement for my staff. something i'd like to commit to the record and i feel like we have an opportunity here and i hope the republicans and democrats alike will be able to take this opportunity that has been presented to us to make make a difference and i would like to simplify it that we haven't met for four years, at the budget conference and during that time we have added $5.9 trillion to the debt. and that is about $50,000 per household. don't think we are going to do this here. but i think that we can do something that goes to move us in the right direction we can call it a good bargain for the american people and i think that there were three elements to it. all the snow that is the problem. and let's not break that and acknowledge that we have one third of the government that is part of the situation. it's going to grow to 36% and the health care entitlements will grow in the next 10 years it will bankrupt the country if we don't deal with it. so we have to do something that is credible to do a bargain to the american people and specifically something on entitlements. we all want to preserve them and protect them, but they are not sustainable in their current form and we all know that. there is there's no secret about it. and my thought is that we could have something on entitlements side, not a grand bargain, but it provides some relief on the sequester side as talked about earlier today and show the american people that we can make some progress on two thirds of the progress that is right now off-limits. at least i totally hope we can get back to work and i totally agree with that and i think that we are not going to see a robust economic recovery must we take this what lincoln often that is an amazing level of debt and deficit. this is unprecedented and impacts the economy and we are thinking about investing. this is an innovator and a factor and i hope that we will do something not just in terms of mandatory spending, which i think is and it is obvious to me that this is urgent. it is urgent because we are losing people and capital and investments overseas as we are talking and companies are making a decision not to be american companies because of our tax code because it's not competitive. we are not going to do it in the next 18 legislative days, but we could put together instructions for tax reform that say let's facilitate and expedite the process and i know that the chairman wants to do that. i'm not sure where leadership is on all this, but i think is a as a group we can all say that we agree not as to whether we should raise taxes or cut taxes or whatever the republicans will do and we have a growing consensus about how u.s. with the economy and we talk about the loopholes and so on and the final thing i want to say is if we could stop the government shutdowns and your work here, not by passing legislation but by proposing that we have a legislative fix like the government shutdown, that would make sense and if you haven't finished your appropriations bill by september 30, you simply have the same spending from the previous year and it can be down 120 days by 100% and another 100% next 60 days and it's not anti-appropriate. but it's pro-appropriator. but there are some who are concerned about it. but for me, we need to get the work done. we had one appropriations conference in the last year. so i hope that we can focus on what is doable. >> thank you, senator. i have the same sentiments as president obama. if americans could have been a fly on the wall, they could have seen what happened. it there is a great interest in solving these problems and i think that that is a good thing. as senator sessions point -- point out to us, i have done a lot of negotiating in the first thing i learned is a pretty good start any negotiation and spending a lot of time on the front end of negotiation to figure out what you agree on. we have had that mentioned around the table quite a bit and i think most of us agree on but it's not just the government. and so there is one thing that we all agree on, we share the same goal. and i certainly want to have the opportunity, every american have the opportunity to build a good life for their family. i think everyone here deserved that goal and i am the first to admit that we have wide disparity on achieving that goal and there is reasons for these discussions to try to deal and grapple with these enormous consequences. it's not helpful and it won't solve the problem. and the other thing that my business background brings to the table is a lot of problems that are part of the root cause and we solve this problem networks. in almost any problem-solving process is admitting you have a problem. and then that is followed by defining it properly. one thing i would like to do in open hearings in this process is to define a problem and in negotiating we have one set of books and then why are we different. i will guarantee that you never come to successful negotiation and we actually have to have an agreed-upon set of books and i would argue that we are not dealing with the budget problem here, but a 30 year demographic baby booming problem and we are dramatically under sizing the problem. so i just couldn't resist, i have a big-screen big screen tv here, we have to have some time. but here is the latest long-term projection over the next three decades we will experience the $6.3 trillion deficit. and then 33.6 for a whopping total of $56 trillion and we put together some productions as well and i came up with a 7 trillion-dollar deficit and we can do that and i don't care which number you pick, but it's a big problem that needs to be addressed. and i hear all the time that only because of the social security trust fund, but here are the facts in terms of cash deficit. the next decade the social security will pay out $1.1 trillion in benefits and this is a whopping total of $12.7 trillion over 30 years and it needs to be saved for future generations and the chairman can attest to this. it is not particularly popular for public and trying to reform these programs. we feel that we have to do it. the republicans agree with the government and we agree with that goal and we tried to grow the economy and this is proof and since 2009, we have increased revenue by $1.2 trillion in just this last year alone we have added $672 billion of revenue even with meager economic growth, that yellow thing on top of the that they are, is $27 million added because of the tax increase and that is an important point to make and we agree on the economic growth there's a lot of things we can agree on to solve each problem. >> thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you. i would like to thank the chairman's for this budget committee's and i can agree that we both think that getting back to the economic growth and jobs is a top priority. my hope is that we can shut the government from coming down, and we want to grow the economy and create the jobs and reduce our deficit. but if we are going to get back to working together and reducing our deficit, we have to start by figuring out what we do really agreed-upon so we can find common ground on the board and that is the way that we have every day here in washington. so i would like to outline what i think are the priorities that can unite us. we do want to grow the federal revenue. after the class of 2008, we've had 40 straight quarters of job growth, but the national unemployment rate is 32,000 in delaware and we have record rates of income inequality and we have to be strong. ..

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