On the recordDecember 6, 2012
this morning Senator McConnell came to the floor. He made a serious offer dealing with the debt ceiling--one of the most important issues facing this country. As I said, it is a serious offer. I have not personally read it. My staff looked at it, and it is important enough that I would like to have a vote on it this afternoon. I need to have a caucus and explain to my troops what this is all about. If we can work something out with Senator McConnell, I would like to have a vote sometime this afternoon. I do need to have a caucus. We have another vote right now, and if my Republican colleagues think there is not a chance of having a vote this afternoon--I can only do it by unanimous consent. If someone is going to object to it, they should do it now and we will arrange another time to address this issue. So the issue is that Senator McConnell has made a proposal on how we handle the debt ceiling, and we have to get permission from my Republican colleagues as to whether we can have a vote on it this afternoon at a time that would be as convenient as possible. I don't think we need a lot of time to debate it. We have done that lots of times. Mr. McCAIN. Madam President, how about 1 p.m.?
