On the recordOctober 12, 2013
as most know now--we did a press event so everybody knows, I guess, but I will say it again--I had a meeting with Senators McConnell, Alexander, and Schumer this morning to work on issues before us. The conversations are preliminary, but we are talking. I hope everyone understands how positive this is. It is the first discussions we have had here, period, during the whole pendency of this artificially driven government shutdown and not raising the debt limit when we should. I am confident Senator McConnell understands that defaulting on our debt would mean millions of jobs in the United States, not thousands, not hundreds of thousands but millions. It could halt Social Security checks, Medicare payments, and even paychecks for our men and women in uniform. Democratic Senators agree with President Obama and we share a simple goal. We want to reopen the government and pay our bills so we can move forward in good-faith negotiations for a long-term budget to protect jobs, the middle class, and the American economy. That is our goal. ____________________
