The presiding officer: The
senator from Arizona.
Mr. McCain: Mr. President,
while the democratic leader is
still here on the floor, I just
want to mention that I
understand his concern about the
health care issue and the
amendments and the process for
moving forward and the necessity
for doing is.
I made my views very clear.
I won't repeat that eloquent
speech that I made.
I would just likeo say to my
friend from New York that we do
have a bill that passed through
the committee 27-0.
Not a single person against it
after many days of debate,
amendments, discussion,
including a couple hundred
amendments that were disposed of
in the tradition of the armed
services committee.
Now, I believe that it's in
everybody's interest to go ahead
and take up the defense bill so
that we can go to conference and
resolve other issues, such as
sequestration, et cetera.
So I understand the frustration
that my friend from New York
feels.
But I -- where I have a
disagreement with my friend from
New York is saying that these
two issues are inseparable.
I believe that our obligation to
the men and women in the
militacendant.
I understand the senator from
New York.
I was here, 60 votes, the bill
was rammed through over
Republican objections without a
single amendment.
I understand his frustration.
And so what the senator -- the
majority leader and I are asking
for is just tomorrow to take up
the bill.
We can get it done in a few
hours.
Send it to conference.
Take care of the equipment,
training, all the things that
the men and women who are
serving in the military need.
By the way, I understand the
emotion on the other side.
I felt the same emotion on this
side some years ago and I
haven't forgotten it yet.
So I would hope that -- and I
know that the senator from new
York has to discuss with his
conference this issue of the
defense authorization bill.
I would remind him and all of my
colleagues for 53 years now we
have passed and had the
president of the United States
sign the defense authorization
bill.
That is -- that is a precedent
that I really hope we do not
break because of our obligation
to the men and women who are
serving in the military.
And I know the senator from new
York feels exactly the same way.
I am not impugning the integrity
of the senator from New York.
But I would just ask that we
consider and I know that the
senator from New York has to go
back to his conference.
I hope that they would all
consider.
Mr. Schumer: Would my colleague
yield?
Mr. McCain: I note, for
example, the senator from
Virginia here on the floor who
has been a vital part of the --
no, not the other one.
Both have been vital members of
the armed services committee.
Yes, we have our disputes.
Yes, we have our arguments.
Yes, we are spirited.
But we come out unanimously
taking care of the men and women
in the military.
Mr. Schumer: Could my colleague
yield so I could answer him
before the majority leader
speaks.
Look, first our respect for the
senator from Arizona, my dear
friendship, really love for the
man is unbounded.
I am repeating in might head as
many of us have the speech that
our friend from Arizona gave
when he came back and we were
all so joyous that he did.
He talked about going to regular
order.
He talked about working in a
bipartisan way.
He talked about doing this
health care bill the right way
with hearings, with debate, with
amendment.
Even -- I accepted his
chastisement that we pass a
partisan bill.
We did have debate, amendments.
We had a process where six
people spent -- three from each
party spent six months trying to
come to an agreement.
We did not.
I must say the reason that we
must ask consent to go to the
bill is we're in reconciliation.
The very process that has
prevented us from debating, from
having hearings, from having
some kind of bipartisan input.
And I would say to my colleague,
if you want to get rid of this
reconciliation, fine.
Let's recommit the bill to
committee and start on a fair
process and we can go to ndaa
immediately, in an hour, if we
were to do that.
The reason we can't do that is
our dear friend, the majority
leader, is insisting on the
reconciliation process.
And you can't say -- we can't
because we feel defense is
important and we feel the health
care of tens of millions of
Americans is equally important.
And we can't say you can turn on
and turn off the reconciliation
process when you want to and
when you don't.
What's good for the goose, good
for the gander.
If it's good, if reconciliation
is poor and prevents ndaa coming
up immediately, it's equally
poor.
So my plea and suggestion let's
not go forward with this bill.
We don't even know what it is
yet.
Let's go back to committee.
I spoke to senator Alexander, I
spoke to senator Murray this
morning.
If this bill fails, they will go
back and try to negotiate
bipartisan improvements, just as
my good friend from Arizona
recommended when he came back in
that moving speech.
But my caucus, I've spoken for a
few, feel very strongly that
this process on health care has
been awful.
And it's because of
reconciliation and now
reconciliation has put ndaa in a
bind as well.
Let's get rid of reconciliation
and we can do what the leader --
the senator if Arizona wants and
what I think the American people
want, a fair process.
Mr. McCain: Reclaiming my
time.
Mr. Schumer: I ask unanimous
consent that my remarks --
the presiding officer: The
senator from Arizona has the
floor.
Mr. Schumer: I ask unanimous
consent my remarks count against
leader time.
The presiding officer: Is
there objection?
Mr. McCain: Mr. President, --
the presiding officer: Without
objection.
The senator from Arizona.
Mr. McCain: Mr. President, I
don't want to continue.
Our leader has important words
to say.
All I can say to the senator
from New York, this is not the
same.
Defending the nation is our
first priority.
That's what our declaration of
Independence says.
That's what our -- all of our
basis for our roles here.
And there are men and women who
are in harm's way today whose
lives are in danger, who need
this legislation to be better
equipped and better able to
defend themselves and this
nation.
I'm asking for Al few hours
because as my two colleagues
over there will state, we passed
this bill 27-0 through the armed
services committee.
We fight.
We argue.
We insult.
But the fact is we come out with
a product that we are proud of
and that all of us have
supported.
So all I'm asking the senator
from New York is if we could go
off of this for a few hours
because we have basically an
agreement on amendments and get
this thing to the president's
desk so that he can protect and
defend this nation.
That's all I'm asking for.
Mr. Schumer: Once more to my
colleague and briefly -- Mr.
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