I thank my colleague from Utah and appreciate his very eloquent remarks. He has been a great leader on health care issues for a lot of years around here and was a fierce opponent of ObamaCare when it passed and laid out very compelling…

we are now in the third week of government shutdown. We are facing an imminent debt limit crisis. It seems that it has become a pattern around here that we live from crisis to crisis. I hope we do something about that. We obviously have to…

I ask consent to talk for up to 15 minutes. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

a week ago today western South Dakota was preparing for a coming storm, but no one had any idea it would be one of the worst and most devastating snowstorms in that area's history. I grew up in western South Dakota. I was born and raised…

I would vote for an amendment that you would offer that would fix that particular situation for Captain Colburn.

We are on--I guess we're in the middle of what really is, should be, an avoidable partial government shutdown that nobody wants, but nobody seems willing or able to end.

We can't ignore the both immediate and the longer term impacts of having the government shut down, but we also can't ignore the problems that precipitated the current crisis.

I think that's an overwhelming sickness that has to be eliminated.

I would also say one of the incredible ironies is the House has passed and I know the Senate, in whatever final agreement will pass, that our Federal workers will get compensated.

What I really think is a hijacking effort by the Tea Party folks.

I think we ought to fund the National Guard and Reserve.

Isn't it better to have some funding than no funding?

I think we can do much better, and if we did follow regular order, do the budget, do the appropriation bills the way they're supposed to be done, we wouldn't find ourselves in this situation.

But isn't having some funding better than having no funding?

That is not a responsible way to operate an enterprise like the U.S. Government.

I would ask any who want to keep the government shut, tell us what parts of the government you want to keep shut.

I think we have to acknowledge that there are--when you come up here and talk about funding deficiencies for specific agencies and programs, there are bills that have come over here that would fund many of those agencies and many of those…

We end up at the eleventh hour grasping to find a solution to try and solve a problem, and everybody's weighing the political impact of how this, who is going to benefit, who is going to lose.

I would rather have people back at work, particularly in some of these essential areas.

And I do not disagree at all that this should be handled in the normal appropriations process.

The complete lack of business sense from those who say you can start and stop an enterprise and that doesn’t cost more is so divorced from economic reality it is stunning.

I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded and I be allowed to speak for up to 12 minutes. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The Senator is recognized.

we are in the eighth day of a completely unnecessary partial government shutdown. Last week there was an official at the White House who said they were winning the shutdown debate and they were not concerned about how long the shutdown…

yesterday the White House said it is ``winning'' the shutdown debate, and that it is ``not concerned'' how long the shutdown lasts. The Democrats may be content with playing political games. The Republicans remain focused on finding a…

I think the reason Republicans here in the Senate find this stance so perplexing is that the characterization we have never negotiated around a debt ceiling is absolutely not true. Deficit reduction measures over the last several decades…