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 loans are able to go out so we can help where that is needed.

We need to make sure crucial lifesaving discoveries at NIH happen. Right now if we have a shutdown, people will not be able to be admitted to the National Institutes of Health clinical trials and programs because they don’t know if they will be continued.

Weather forecasters will be told they are not an essential service.

We are now looking at the impact on Federal law enforcement.

I could go item by item. I will talk more about these items as time goes on.

I will conclude by saying during this last year on both sides of the aisle the Appropriations Committee has functioned well. I thank not only my subcommittee chairmen—I see Senator, who chairs the defense subcommittee—but I also wish to thank the Republicans. My vice chairman of the committee, Senator of Alabama, supported me at every step of the process. We functioned with civility, intellectual rigor, and open amendments during the committee process. It was transparent. We had “yes” votes, we had “no” votes. But everybody had their day and everybody had their say. We were able to move our process forward, although we disagreed sometimes on the funding level for this or the funding level for that. But we came to a conclusion. I wish to thank them for their cooperation in the process.

Now we are here, where we could take the next step. Yes, we have to debate some of those line items. We do need to debate some of those programs. But we can’t move forward unless we resolve the shutdown showdown.

Let’s pass a continuing resolution that takes us to mid-November. Let’s make that continuing resolution a clean CR, which means let’s get rid of the political riders. Our goal in December is that we pass an omnibus bill that is affordable, sensible, meets compelling human needs, national security needs, our human infrastructure, and also lays the groundwork for new jobs by funding research and development, at the same time to cancel sequester, because we have arrived at it in a balanced way where, yes, we can make additional strategic cuts, where we also need to look at some of the items of mandatory spending, and let’s look at some revenue. I think we can do it.

If we want to project American power, the way to do that is right now show that we can govern. Let’s not get ourselves into a box where we are heading to a showdown. Let’s not get ourselves in a situation where we end up with a shutdown. This will not be a way that builds confidence, builds our economy, and makes America continue to be as strong as it can be.

Madam President, I yield the floor.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Illinois.

Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, it is my understanding that under unanimous consent the Senator from Texas is to be recognized, but I ask if he would allow me 5 minutes to follow the Senator from Maryland and then yield the floor to him.

I thank the Senator from Texas.

Madam President, I stand in support of the statement made by the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. We have served together in the House, now in the Senate. I am happy to serve with her in the capacity as chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, the largest in dollar amount that has this responsibility.

I think what she has spelled out on the floor is very straightforward and very honest.

We were challenged in the Senate to come up with a budget resolution this year. Many of our critics said, You have come up with excuses; now come up with a budget resolution. And we did. Six months ago we passed a budget resolution, and then we asked for consent to go to a conference committee with the House to work out our differences. Time and time again Senators on the other side of the aisle objected to our meeting with the House to work out our differences. They had a different reason every day. The net result was we couldn’t have the conference committee to reach an agreement with the House on how much we would spend.

Then Senator told each of us in our appropriations subcommittees: Do your work. Sit down with your Republican member and come up with a spending bill for next year that gets rid of sequestration and that is sensible. And we did. Time and again we worked these out on a bipartisan basis, brought them through committee, ready for floor action. The first bill came to the floor, transportation. Senator brought it to the floor. We wanted to bring this first spending bill to the floor. Let’s debate it, let’s get it done. The Republicans objected to considering this appropriations bill on the floor. They objected to a conference committee on a budget, they objected to the spending bills, and here we are at the eleventh hour, approaching October 1, without the money to continue the functions of government. We are facing a slowdown this week, and we are going to begin what may not technically be a filibuster but at least is a delay in meeting our responsibility to fund our government.

Some have said—the House Republicans and others—if you do not stop President Obama’s health care reform act, we will shut down the government. That isn’t fair. As Senator has said, there are people across America counting on the functions of our government. This notion that we are somehow going to shut down the government with this political threat is unacceptable—unacceptable to the American people and unacceptable to this great institution.

Senator is correct: We ought to have a short-term CR so we can sit down, roll up our sleeves, and finally finish this business. Whether you are a Democrat, Republican, or Independent, people are fed up with this do-nothing Congress that doesn’t address the real issues American families are facing across our Nation. We need to roll up our sleeves and get it done. To have long speeches that go on for hours, delaying the funding of our government, jeopardizes the most basic functions of what we need to achieve right here. We need to come together on a bipartisan basis. A filibuster, delay, long speeches may get the attention of the media for a few minutes but won’t solve America’s problems.

The last point I want to make was her strongest point. The President is at the United Nations this week meeting with leaders around the world to try to bring about a more peaceful world in a very dangerous climate in many places. He wants to let people know that America will use its leadership and its power to come together to make this a better world. And what message is coming out of the United States Senate? That we are divided, we are fighting with one another, we are facing filibusters, and on and on. This isn’t what America should be projecting.

Let’s project the kind of unity and the kind of determination that has made this a great nation. Let’s fund our government; let’s solve our problems; let’s stop the obstruction.

I yield the floor.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.

Mr. CRUZ. Madam President, I rise today in opposition to ObamaCare. I rise today in an effort to speak for 26 million Texans and for 300 million Americans.

All across this country Americans are suffering because of ObamaCare. ObamaCare isn’t working. Yet fundamentally there are politicians in this body who are not listening to the people. They are not listening to the concerns of their constituents, they are not listening to the jobs lost or the people forced into part-time work, to the people losing their health insurance, to the people who are struggling.

A great many Texans, a great many Americans feel they don’t have a voice. I hope to play some very small part in helping provide that voice for them. I intend to speak in opposition to ObamaCare, I intend to speak in support of defunding ObamaCare, until I am no longer able to stand, to do everything I can to help Americans stand together and recognize this grand experiment 3½ years ago is, quite simply, not working.

I also say at the outset that I am particularly honored to be standing side by side with my friend and colleague Senator from Utah. Senator has shown visionary leadership in standing and taking the mantle of leading the effort to defund ObamaCare and to challenge this train wreck of a law, and Senator  has been repaid at times with vilification from official Washington.