Mark Begich

The greatest thing I have to tell you, Mr. Chairman, is the one in Fairbanks that just opened, the Tanana Chiefs facility, well, I wish when I was growing up as a kid in Alaska I had that kind of dental service.

I would love to get your input additionally as we work through this because it is critical especially in rural Alaska.

The next rollcall vote will be at 5:30 p.m. on Monday October 28. ____________________

If there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it adjourn under the previous order. There being no objection, the Senate, at 11:36 p.m., conditionally adjourned until Thursday, October 17, 2013, at…

NIHB encourages the committee to swiftly consider and favorably report S. 1575 to ensure that all AI/ANs are eligible for the benefits intended for them in the ACA.

If it goes in the wrong direction, it will have a direct impact on the people who are working--meaning fewer people will be working. If there is less business, there is less need to hire people, which means higher unemployment and more…

To remind folks who are listening, the gross domestic product is basically the business of the country.

Is it fair to say that we have been moving this annual deficit down every year? It has been on the right glidepath--down. If we have a change in the T-bill rates, this effort to keep moving the deficit down will quickly reverse because we…

If I can interrupt, car loans, credit cards, student loans, any type of credit you want to get to grow your business, expand your educational opportunities--maybe you are doing holiday shopping this year--all that is impacted in a negative…

But remember, when we do those appropriation bills actually the government is open.

We're picking winners and losers when what we should be doing is looking in the totality of government.

I want to not put you in--I'm happy to answer these questions because I think it's a good question, because the assumption is by those bills coming over magic happens, people get funded.

We cannot recreate history here.

Crisis management from any administration's standpoint--and I've run businesses, I have been a mayor--is the worst type of policy because you will miss things.

It seems like this would be a simple thing for us to do.

At the end of the day we've got to solve these problems and not do it on 3-week or 6-week intervals.

We did that starting in July on the Continuing Resolution.

The hearing record will remain open until 5 p.m. tomorrow, October 9, for the submission of statements and questions for the record.

I guess I have one more. The Senator said something I thought was very interesting on the budget deficit. The Senator is older than I am. I came here 2 years after the Senator. When we came in, we dealt with the debt ceiling, which is…

Isn't it odd they pass ``let's pay everybody,'' 435 to 0, they pass it but they only want to have some of them come back to work? If you are a fiscal conservative--I think I am; we are from Montana, Alaska, you know, conservative States--I…

Not a lot of stuff added on later that wasn't necessary. We would debate that later but----

Could the Senator from Montana stay for a second so I can ask for a clarification of one of his beginning statements?

And they have passed their budget too. So we have two budgets ready to go to conference; is that fair?

I know the Senator came to Alaska a few months ago and had an opportunity to see some of the great ability of our energy companies and what we are trying to do. Today I got an important announcement from Exxon and ConocoPhillips about…

It creates quality candidates versus political candidates. I think it makes our judicial system better because of that.