Bob Corker

It is my understanding that most of you are pretty familiar with a bill that is before--Senate bill 1217...

I do. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Arizona. Mr. McCAIN. Madam President, I want to thank my friend from Tennessee, whose commitment to achieving solutions and resolution of this bitter environment in which we find ourselves is…

Absolutely. As a matter of fact, I am just looking down to see what the date is, but it seems to me that we have 2 weeks here, and to get to the Senator's comments, hopefully a week. In other words, the quicker we resolve these issues, the…

That is right. Mr. McCAIN. It is going to meet its obligations. So we know those are facts. We know that at some point there is going to have to be a resolution. It is not going to go on forever. Nothing does. So if it argues for a…

It will function again. Mr. McCAIN. Sooner or later we will address the debt ceiling because the United States is not going to renege on its debts.

I think everyone understands that is very problematic for markets. Actually, we are beginning to see some volatility now that we have not seen in the past. I would like to respond, if I could, a little more fully to say that I think we…

Right. Mr. McCAIN. The Senator from Tennessee has an extensive background in finance. Isn't it true that the world markets would react in a very, very severe fashion if we allowed the debt limit to expire?

Yes. I did not mean to individuals. Mr. McCAIN. To both sides of the aisle. And they do not understand, isn't it true, why we have not been able to come to some conclusion? As the Senator from Tennessee just said, we now are going to have…

I would be tremendously honored to take a question from the distinguished Senator. Mr. McCAIN. Has the Senator seen the polls of American public opinion about what we are doing here? Has the Senator had a chance to see that?

I do not pay as much attention to polls possibly as I should. My understanding, in listening to the senior Senator from Arizona, is they are not particularly favorable. Mr. McCAIN. To all of us. To all of us.

I did not really expect to come down here and speak. I was just checking on a judge vote, which I understand has been postponed. But I do say this: It appears to me that the CR discussion and the debt ceiling discussion are going to be…

The way the sanctions law reads, they have got to not only dismantle their nuclear program, but they also have to renounce terrorism.

If we negotiate an end to their nuclear program or a significant rollback, we still have a country that is hostile.

I do not think there is any question but that the actions that this committee and others have taken, and Congress in general, toward Iran have helped put us in the place we are in.

the greatest threat to our Nation, the greatest threat still is ourselves.

I know that the administration touted the fact that this committee passed an authorization for the use of military force as being one of those things that moved Syria into a place where they were willing to negotiate.

we find ourselves in a very predictable situation, and what is unpredictable is what our response to this situation is going to be. For some time I have talked about the box canyon that we were taking ourselves into, and I think it has now…

An important part of what we are doing is keeping our coalition together.

I do believe the sanctions that we have put in place have created this moment.

I think what all of you have said is that the model that a large group on the Committee are looking at that puts private capital in front of any kind of Government backstop is a very good model to go alongside private label financing.

I think all of us who have been working on this for some time realize there are a lot of improvements that can be made.

if I could, I would just like to say in response to my good friend from Illinois, it is not the Republican side asking to stall. We only have two Republican Senators who are wanting to push this off. So I do not want that to be…

I agree the Senate rule that is in place allows postcloture votes. That 51-vote majority has been there for decades and generations. It is the same rule we have operated under for decades. Let me just ask this question: We have a bill…

The thing is, I think the Senator from Texas may be confused. We are not going to be voting on the amendment. We have the chance to vote on the amendment after the vote on cloture. The vote on cloture tomorrow is a vote on ending debate on…

I would respond that after a 21-hour filibuster yesterday, the Senator voted in favor of the thing he is filibustering and Senator Harry Reid joined the Senator in that too. So it seems to me they are very similar.