ROLL CALL VOTE 379 H.R.1954 -- To implement the President's request to increase the statutory limit on the public debt

FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 379 (Republicans in roman; Democrats in italic; Independents underlined)

H R 1954 2/3 YEA-AND-NAY 31-May-2011 7:11 PM QUESTION: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass BILL TITLE: To implement the President’s request to increase the statutory limit on the public debt.

	Yeas	Nays	PRES	NV
Republican		236		3
Democratic	97	82	7	6
Independent
TOTALS	97	318	7	9

---- YEAS 97 ---

Berman Blumenauer Brady (PA) Capuano Carson (IN) Clarke (MI) Clarke (NY) Clay Cleaver Cohen Connolly (VA) Cooper Davis (IL) DeGette Dicks Dingell Doyle Edwards Ellison Engel Eshoo Farr Fattah Filner Frank (MA) Fudge Garamendi Gonzalez Green, Al Grijalva Gutierrez Hanabusa Heinrich

Himes Hirono Holt Honda Jackson (IL) Jackson Lee (TX) Johnson, E. B. Kildee Kucinich Larsen (WA) Larson (CT) Lee (CA) Lofgren, Zoe Lowey Luján Lynch Maloney Markey Matsui McCarthy (NY) McCollum McDermott McGovern Miller (NC) Moore Moran Murphy (CT) Nadler Neal Olver Pascrell Pastor (AZ) Payne

Perlmutter Pingree (ME) Price (NC) Quigley Richmond Rothman (NJ) Roybal-Allard Ruppersberger Rush Sánchez, Linda T. Sarbanes Schakowsky Scott (VA) Serrano Sewell Sherman Sires Speier Stark Thompson (MS) Tonko Tsongas Velázquez Waters Watt Waxman Weiner Welch Wilson (FL) Woolsey Yarmuth

---- NAYS 318 ---

Adams Aderholt Akin Alexander Altmire Amash Andrews Austria Baca Bachmann Bachus Baldwin Barletta Barrow Bartlett Barton (TX) Bass (CA) Bass (NH) Becerra Benishek Berg Berkley Biggert Bilbray Bilirakis Bishop (GA) Bishop (NY) Bishop (UT) Black Blackburn Bonner Bono Mack Boren Boswell Boustany Brady (TX) Brooks Broun (GA) Brown (FL) Buchanan Bucshon Buerkle Burgess Burton (IN) Butterfield Calvert Camp Campbell Canseco Cantor Capito Capps Cardoza Carnahan Carney Carter Cassidy Castor (FL) Chabot Chaffetz Chandler Cicilline Clyburn Coble Coffman (CO) Cole Conaway Conyers Costa Costello Courtney Cravaack Crawford Crenshaw Critz Crowley Cuellar Culberson Cummings Davis (CA) Davis (KY) DeFazio DeLauro Denham Dent DesJarlais Deutch Diaz-Balart Dold Donnelly (IN) Dreier Duffy Duncan (TN) Ellmers Emerson Farenthold Fincher Fitzpatrick Flake Fleischmann Fleming Flores Forbes Fortenberry Foxx Franks (AZ)

Frelinghuysen Gallegly Gardner Garrett Gerlach Gibbs Gibson Gingrey (GA) Gohmert Goodlatte Gosar Gowdy Granger Graves (GA) Graves (MO) Green, Gene Griffin (AR) Griffith (VA) Grimm Guinta Guthrie Hall Hanna Harper Harris Hartzler Hastings (FL) Hastings (WA) Hayworth Heck Hensarling Herger Herrera Beutler Higgins Hinojosa Holden Hoyer Huelskamp Huizenga (MI) Hultgren Hunter Hurt Inslee Israel Issa Jenkins Johnson (IL) Johnson (OH) Johnson, Sam Jones Jordan Keating Kelly Kind King (IA) King (NY) Kingston Kinzinger (IL) Kissell Kline Labrador Lamborn Lance Landry Langevin Lankford Latham LaTourette Latta Levin Lewis (CA) Lewis (GA) Lipinski LoBiondo Loebsack Long Luetkemeyer Lummis Lungren, Daniel E. Mack Manzullo Marchant Marino Matheson McCarthy (CA) McCaul McClintock McCotter McHenry McIntyre McKeon McKinley McMorris Rodgers McNerney Meehan Mica Michaud Miller (FL) Miller (MI) Miller, Gary Miller, George Mulvaney Murphy (PA) Napolitano Neugebauer Noem

Nugent Nunes Nunnelee Olson Owens Palazzo Pallone Paul Paulsen Pearce Pelosi Pence Peters Peterson Petri Pitts Platts Poe (TX) Polis Pompeo Posey Price (GA) Quayle Rahall Rangel Reed Rehberg Reichert Renacci Reyes Ribble Richardson Rigell Rivera Roby Roe (TN) Rogers (AL) Rogers (KY) Rogers (MI) Rohrabacher Rokita Rooney Ros-Lehtinen Roskam Ross (AR) Ross (FL) Royce Runyan Ryan (OH) Ryan (WI) Scalise Schiff Schilling Schmidt Schock Schrader Schweikert Scott (SC) Scott, Austin Scott, David Sensenbrenner Sessions Shimkus Shuler Shuster Simpson Slaughter Smith (NE) Smith (NJ) Smith (TX) Smith (WA) Southerland Stearns Stivers Stutzman Sullivan Sutton Terry Thompson (CA) Thompson (PA) Thornberry Tiberi Tipton Towns Turner Upton Van Hollen Visclosky Walberg Walden Walsh (IL) Wasserman Schultz Webster West Westmoreland Whitfield Wilson (SC) Wittman Wolf Womack Woodall Wu Yoder Young (AK) Young (FL) Young (IN)

---- ANSWERED “PRESENT” 7 ---

Ackerman Chu Doggett

Hinchey Johnson (GA) Kaptur

Meeks

---- NOT VOTING 9 ---

Braley (IA) Duncan (SC) Giffords

Lucas Myrick Sanchez, Loretta

Schwartz Tierney Walz (MN)

TEXT CREDIT: house.gov/

Dave Camp:Floor Statement: H.R. 1954 - To Implement the Increase in the Debt Limit Required by the President’s Budget TEXT VIDEO

TEXT TRANSCRIPT: Camp Floor Statement: H.R. 1954 - To Implement the Increase in the Debt Limit Required by the President’s Budget Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Last December, the President’s own Fiscal Commission offered a plan to reign in our budget deficits and debt. While I did not support the final package – especially the tax increases it proposed – it did contain several meaningful suggestions for ways to get federal spending under control.

Yet last February, when the President submitted his budget for 2012, he ignored their advice and provided no plan to reign in deficits and debt. Last month, Standard and Poor’s downgraded the outlook for the U.S. credit rating because Washington appeared to have no plan to reign in our budget deficits and debt.

In recent weeks many Congressional Democrats were proving them right when over 100 of them called for an unconditional increase in the U.S. debt limit. They signed a letter calling on their colleagues to establish “the Democratic position in favor of a clean extension of the debt ceiling” – something Secretary Geithner has also repeatedly called for.

It is time to come clean with the American people about our deficits and debt. At over $14 trillion, our debt is as large as the entire U.S. economy and is putting the American Dream at risk for future generations. It has become an anchor on economic growth – costing us 1 million jobs at a time when the unemployment rate has not been this high for this long since the Great Depression.

Erskine Bowles, who chaired President Obama’s Fiscal Commission and served as Chief of Staff to President Clinton, has said that the era of debt denial is over. While it doesn’t appear that all of his Democrat colleagues have gotten the message, with today’s vote this House will declare to the American people and to the credit rating agencies that business as usual in Washington is over. Not only is the era of debt denial over, but so is Washington’s out of control spending.

Today, we are making clear that Republicans will not accept an increase in our nation’s debt limit without substantial spending cuts and real budgetary reforms.

This vote, a vote based on legislation I have introduced, will and must fail. Now, most Members aren’t happy when they bring a bill to the floor and it fails, but I consider defeating an unconditional increase to be a success, because it sends a clear and critical message that the Congress has finally recognized we must immediately begin to reign in America’s affection for deficit spending.

Research by international experts clearly demonstrates that spending reforms, not tax increases, are the most effective path to fiscal consolidation. That means that together, we must look for responsible ways to tackle our runaway spending. And though it is difficult, and not always popular, it requires us to deal with entitlement reforms that are the largest driver of America’s deficits – including health care spending programs like Medicare.

We all know that failing to act and address our debt head-on would be very similar to actually defaulting on our debt. In both cases, we would experience a significant downgrade in our credit rating, which increases interest rates making payments for things like a car and home loans more expensive. It would also increase the cost of imports, meaning higher gas prices. And, it would make an already shaky economy even worse – leading to less job creation.

The greatest threat to the U.S. economy and to international financial markets would be guaranteed simply increasing the debt limit, without cutting a penny of spending. This vote makes clear that deficit reduction will be part of any bill to increase the debt limit, and is a necessary part of this process.

A “no” vote today is a vote to put us on the path toward exactly what the markets – and the American people are demanding – an America that is a strong, reliable and secure financial investment for the future. I urge all my colleagues to vote “No” on this unconditional increase.

###

VIDEO and IMAGE CREDIT: DaveCampYT

TEXT CREDIT: House Committee on Ways & Means Chairman Camp statement. Main Office: Ways and Means Committee Office 1102 Longworth House Office Building Washington D.C. 20515 P: 202-225-3625 F: 202-225-2610

Press Office: Ways and Means Press Office 1101 Longworth House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 P: 202-226-4774 F: 202-225-2610.

H.R.1954 -- To implement the President's request to increase the statutory limit on the public debt TEXT FULL PDF

H.R.1954 -- To implement the President's request to increase the statutory limit on the public debt.

Floor Situation: On Tuesday, May 31, 2011, the House is scheduled to consider H.R. 1954, a bill to implement the President's request to increase the statutory limit on the public debt, under a suspension of the rules, requiring a two-thirds Majority vote. H.R. 1954 was introduced by Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI) on May 24, 2011, and was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, which took no official action.

H.R.1954 -- To implement the President's request to increase the statutory limit on the public debt FULL TEXT in PDF FORMAT

Bill Summary & Status 112th Congress (2011 - 2012) H.R.1954

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 24, 2011 Mr. CAMP introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

A BILL To implement the President’s request to increase the
statutory limit on the public debt.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa
2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
3 SECTION 1. FINDING.
4 The Congress finds that the President’s budget pro
5 posal, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal
6 Year 2012, necessitates an increase in the statutory debt
7 limit of $2,406,000,000,000.

2

1 SEC. 2. INCREASE IN STATUTORY LIMIT ON THE PUBLIC
2 DEBT.
3 Subsection (b) of section 3101 of title 31, United
4 States Code, is amended by striking out the dollar limita
5 tion contained in such subsection and inserting in lieu
6 thereof ‘‘$16,700,000,000,000’’.

•HR 1954 IH

Background from Chairman Dave Camp:

Camp: No Debt Limit Increase Without Spending Cuts. Introduction of “Clean” Debt Limit Legislation Sets Up Test Vote in House to Prove Reforms Must be Part of Any Deal to Raise the Debt Limit.

Dave Camp Ways and Means Chairman

Tuesday, May 24, 2011 Washington, D.C. - Today, Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI) introduced the necessary legislation that allows the U.S. House of Representatives to reject a so-called clean increase in the nation's debt limit. The legislation, which Chairman Camp strongly opposes and is expected to be voted on as early as next week, would increase the debt limit by $2.4 trillion - the amount necessary under the President's budget to get through the end of 2012.

Chairman Camp, whose committee has jurisdiction over the debt limit, issued the following statement:

“Let me be clear: I do not support and will not vote for a debt limit increase that does not contain significant spending cuts and budgetary reforms. Our current path is unsustainable and unacceptable. We must force Washington to live within its means, and any deal on the debt limit should include real reforms including entitlement programs like Medicare.

“The President's budget calls for a $2.4 trillion increase in the debt limit through the end of next year. The legislation I filed today will allow the House to reject a clean increase in the debt limit proving to the American people, the financial markets and the Administration that we are serious about tackling our debt and deficit problems.

“Increasing the debt limit without showing that we can achieve real spending restraint would likely lead to very similar results as default: a lower credit rating, higher borrowing costs and more expensive imports. Such irresponsibility would most certainly increase the cost of oil and gas, making the pain at the pump that much worse. All of that is bad for the economy, bad for job creation and bad for American families.

“The ‘borrow now and pay later’ attitude that has prevailed for too long in Washington is threatening the American Dream. We simply aren't going to continue on that same reckless path any longer.”

Floor Situation TEXT CREDIT: GOP.gov - The Website of the Republican Majority in Congress

Chairman Camp statement TEXT and IMAGE CREDIT: House Committee on Ways & Means Contact: Jim Billimoria, Michelle Dimarob, or Sarah Swinehart (202) 226-4774 Main Office: Ways and Means Committee Office 1102 Longworth House Office Building Washington D.C. 20515 P: 202-225-3625 F: 202-225-2610

Press Office: Ways and Means Press Office 1101 Longworth House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 P: 202-226-4774 F: 202-225-2610

Michele Bachmann on 2012 Race Good Morning America 05/31/11 VIDEO

Michele Bachmann on 2012 Race: Palin Showdown? Tea party star talks to George Stephanopoulos about the 2012 primary race. 5/31/2011. VIDEO and TEXT CREDIT: Good Morning America

John Fleming Time to Reform Entitlements is NOW Time to Reform Entitlements is NOW VIDEO

Congressman John Fleming, M.D. released the following statement responding to a Medicare Board of Trustees Report showing that the Medicare Trust Fund will run out money in 2024 - five years earlier than what was forecasted last year making it even more imperative to reform this entitlement so that it can be solvent moving forward. With healthcare costs surging and our debt spiraling out of control, reforming medicare is an essential step to getting us back on sound financial footing.

"This report underscores the need to reform entitlements NOW. But rather fixing this imminent catastrophe, Democrats and President Obama would rather play the "mediscare" game and push health care rationing," said Congressman Fleming. "I support real reforms to medicare that make it sustainable for the future while not changing benefits for participants over 55 years of age."

Congressman Fleming added, "As a practicing physician for over 30 years, I know firsthand the need for these reforms which is why I stood with Republicans to vote for and pass real medicare reforms that bring us back to financial sanity and put the patient first."

Dr. John Fleming is Chairman of the Natural Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs and is a member of the House Armed Services Committee. He is a physician and small business owner and represents the 4th Congressional District of Louisiana.

VIDEO: arep04

TEXT and IMAGE CREDIT: Congressman John Fleming: Washington DC Office 416 Cannon HOB Washington, D.C. 20515 Phone: (202) 225-2777 Fax: (202) 225-8039 Office Hours: 9am-6pm (M-F)

Contact: Michael Tadeo 202.225.2777

Tim Pawlenty on ABC News This Week 05/29/11 VIDEO

Tim Pawlenty on ABC News This Week 05/29/11 VIDEO "We need a President that will lead. Please watch my interview this morning on ABC News." VIDEO and IMAGE CREDIT: GovernorTimPawlenty TEXT CREDIT: @timpawlenty:

Eric Cantor Face the Nation VIDEO

Harry Smith spoke with House Majority Leader Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) on making the certain budget cuts necessary to provide aid to the tornado stricken Joplin, Mo., his support for Medicare reform, a recent jobs bill proposal, and the 2012 GOP presidential candidates

© 2011, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. PLEASE CREDIT ANY QUOTES OR EXCERPTS FROM THIS CBS TELEVISION PROGRAM TO "CBS NEWS' FACE THE NATION."

TEXT IMAGE and VIDEO CREDIT: "CBS NEWS' FACE THE NATION."

Mitch McConnell Meet The Press "Doing nothing is not an option" TEXT VIDEO

MR. GREGORY: Good morning. The president returned last night from his six-day European trip and leaves the White House again this morning to travel to tornado-ravaged Joplin, Missouri, where he will visit with survivors and family members of that terrible storm. It hit a week ago and has left devastation all throughout the area; more than 120 people dead, more than 100 still missing. Here in Washington, meantime, no break this Memorial Day weekend from the intense debate over the budget, overhauling Medicare, and the upcoming vote on increasing the debt ceiling. All of this, of course, as the fast approaching 2012 presidential election year makes the climate in Congress even more contentious. Here this morning to tackle those issues and more, two key Senate leaders from each side of the

aisle: the Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky; and from the other side of the aisle, the senior senator from New York, Chuck Schumer. We will begin here in the studio with the leader of the Republicans in the Senate. Senator McConnell, welcome back to MEET THE PRESS.

SEN. McCONNELL: Good morning.

MR. GREGORY: I want to show you the scene from upstate New York, that special House selection. Kathy Hochul prevailed. And this is the scene which she won. The chant was " Medicare, Medicare." This was a key issue based on how the Republicans are trying to overhaul Medicare. And the question is this, has this become the new third rail of American politics, touch it and you get burned?

SEN. McCONNELL: Well, look, you know, we have had a regularly scheduled election in our country every two years since 1788 right on time. We're about a year and a half ahead of the next one. And at critical points throughout our history when we've really had to step up to the plate and tackle big issues, we've done it in spite of the fact that in America there's always an election coming up. Where are we? Well, we know that the co-chairman of the president's deficit reduction commission, Erskine Bowles, said that this is the most predictable crisis heading our way, that's our debt and deficit, the most predictable crisis in American history. We know the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, when asked what was the biggest national security threat to the United States, said the debt and deficit was our biggest threat. It's time to act, David, regardless of the election a year and a half from now. And, you know, the president, to his credit, is at the table through the discussions with the vice president and members of the House and Senate over the issue that is confronting our country. Look, Standard Poors recently sent us a warning signal they're about to downgrade the credit rating of the United States. We have a $14 trillion deficit -- debt the size of our economy, which makes us look like Greece; and, by the way, $50 trillion- plus in unfunded liabilities and popular entitlement programs.

MR. GREGORY: The problem is huge, and the entitlement program...

SEN. McCONNELL: Yeah.

MR. GREGORY: ...is really the heart of it. But I ask the same question, which is, is Medicare the third rail? Look, you said, reportedly, to the speaker of the House John Boehner, "I wouldn't push this Ryan proposal because poetical it's going to hurt the party."

SEN. McCONNELL: Well, I don't know where that quote came from. But the point is, what are we going to do about the problem? We, we know that -- what -- let's -- oh, you want to talk about Medicare? The president says Medicare needs to be on the table, the vice president says Medicare needs to be on the table. Steny Hoyer, the number two Democrat in the House, says Medicare needs to be on the table. It is on the table in the discussions related to the debt ceiling. So...

MR. GREGORY: But not in its current form. If it passes...

SEN. McCONNELL: Well, look, we're...

MR. GREGORY: ...as part of the debt ceiling vote...

SEN. McCONNELL: The Democrats...

MR. GREGORY: ...it's got to be different, does it not, than the Ryan plan?

SEN. McCONNELL: As you pointed out from my comments in the lead-in, the Democrats have no plan at all. We had, we had four votes in the Senate this week...

MR. GREGORY: Fair enough. But, leader, my question is if there's going to be a deal on the debt ceiling on Medicare reform...

SEN. McCONNELL: Mm-hmm.

MR. GREGORY: ...would you concede it's got to look a lot different than the Ryan plan?

SEN. McCONNELL: No! I -- it's on the table. We're going to discuss what ought to be done. Everybody agrees something ought to be done, except the Democrats in the Senate, who have no plan at all.

MR. GREGORY: But you're not even...

SEN. McCONNELL: We had four...

MR. GREGORY: ...you haven't even said publicly whether you're for the Ryan plan. So you're not behind that version of Medicare reform.

SEN. McCONNELL: I voted for the -- I, I voted for the Ryan budget this week.

MR. GREGORY: You didn't whip up your colleagues, though. You didn't try to get additional support.

SEN. McCONNELL: Well, we, we had, we had competing versions in the Senate. Senator Toomey, a Republican senator in the Senate, had a plan. Senator Paul had a plan. The only people who didn't vote for any plan at all -- we -- by the way, we had a vote on the president's budget, didn't get a single solitary vote. Not a single Democratic senator voted for the president's budget.

MR. GREGORY: Fair -- but do you support Ryan's reforms?

SEN. McCONNELL: And the guy, the guy that you're going to have on after me thinks that all we're doing right now is positioning for the 2012 election. What about the country? What about the next generation, not the next election?

MR. GREGORY: I'm just trying to understand where you are particularly on how to change Medicare so...

SEN. McCONNELL: Well, let me tell you.

MR. GREGORY: You're not -- you don't believe that the Ryan plan is the basis of where you're going get agreement.

SEN. McCONNELL: I, I voted for the Ryan budget this week.

MR. GREGORY: But do you believe it's really the big -- because it failed.

SEN. McCONNELL: What I'm not going to do...

MR. GREGORY: It's not going anywhere.

SEN. McCONNELL: ...is negotiate the deal with you, David, with all due respect. The president of the United States, the only person in America who can sign a bill into law, is at the table through the vice president, and we are discussing a package that will begin to deal with deficit and debt in connection...

MR. GREGORY: But, leader, I'm not asking you to negotiate. I'm just asking you to help in the interest of what I assume you want, which is building some kind of political consensus around reform. Having a discussion publicly on television like this and saying, what are the contours of that that could actually get some Democratic support?

SEN. McCONNELL: Well, this is not the place to do that. The place to do it is in the discussions with the one individual out of 307 million Americans who can sign a bill into law. And those discussions are under way, and I can assure you, David, that to get my vote to raise the debt ceiling, for whatever that's worth, my one vote, Medicare will be a part of it. The details of that are yet to be negotiated with the guy who can sign something into law.

MR. GREGORY: But do you have to keep the basis of the Medicare program in place? Is that your view? Because that's not what Ryan is proposing. And then you could do other things.

SEN. McCONNELL: And no matter how many times you ask me to, to kind of craft what the Medicare fix should be like, I'm not going to give that answer to you today because that's a subject to be negotiated with the president of the United States.

MR. GREGORY: But do you understand that the currents here in the Republican Party-- when Newt Gingrich was on this program and called Ryan's plan right-wing social engineering, conservatives flocked to his aid and said, "No, no, the Ryan plan is a litmus test for conservatives in America." What you're saying is not that. You voted for it, but you didn't rally your colleagues behind it and it failed. So there seems to be a split in the party about what it is should constitute actual reform.

SEN. McCONNELL: Actually, there's very little split in the party at all. We all know Medicare's going to change. It's got to change. David, the trustees of Medicare and Social Security, who are appointed by the president of the United States, that includes some members of his own Cabinet, just said a couple of weeks ago that Medicare's going broke. The one thing we know we can't do is nothing. And our Democratic friends in the Senate have no plan at all. The president, to his credit, is at the table discussing with us the way in which you save Medicare. Medicare is going down. Doing nothing is not a plan. And we're going to negotiate the contours of the plan in these negotiations. I'm personally very comfortable with the way Paul Ryan would structure it in the out years. But we have a Democratic president. We're going to have to negotiate with him on the terms of changing Medicare so we can save Medicare.

MR. GREGORY: Are you confident that the debt ceiling will ultimately be raised?

SEN. McCONNELL: I'm confident that unless we do something really significant about debt and deficit, it's not going to be raised. It's not going to get my vote unless we deal with the problem raised by the request of the president to raise the debt ceiling. In other words...

MR. GREGORY: Does Medicare-- is it...

SEN. McCONNELL: This is, this is an opportunity.

MR. GREGORY: Yeah.

SEN. McCONNELL: You know, rather than play scare tactics about what if and, you know, what if you do this or what if you do that, the point is use this opportunity to come together on a bipartisan basis like Ronald Reagan and Tip O'Neill did in 1983 to save Social Security for another generation. They came together, made an important adjustment -- and, by the way, the -- you know, all this talk about next year's election, after participating in raising the age limit for Social Security, Reagan the next year carried 49 out of 50 states. Anything we agree to do together, David, will not be an issue in next year's election. But this is about the future of the country.

MR. GREGORY: Hm.

SEN. McCONNELL: Not about the election a year and a half from now.

MR. GREGORY: Let's ask about taxes. This is an area where Democrats and Republicans do not see eye to eye.

SEN. McCONNELL: Mm-hmm.

MR. GREGORY: And Republicans have been adamant that there aren't going to be any tax hikes as part of a global deal, a broad deal to bring the, the, the deficit down and to bring the, the budget into balance. Former President Clinton spoke this week about this issue, and suggested that that Republican hard-line seems to defy the, the course of history. This is what he said.

FMR. PRES. BILL CLINTON: The, the idea that the lower the tax rates are, the better everything'll be has been debunked now for 30 years both in positive terms when I was president, and in negative terms by quadrupling the debt once and then doubling it again. So, I mean, how many times do we have to see this movie before we know how it ends?

MR. GREGORY: Response?

SEN. McCONNELL: Well, you know, in that same appearance he also said that Medicare should be a part of the discussion and the Democrats should face up to it, as the president and vice president have.

MR. GREGORY: Yes, he did. But I'm asking you to respond to this piece.

SEN. McCONNELL: Yeah, look, you know, we just have a fundamental difference of opinion. If there's any issue which clearly divides Republicans and Democrats, it's taxes. We think we have this problem because we spend too much, not because we tax too little. And you've heard us have this debate over the years, we're going to have it again next year in the course of the election because the president wants the rates to go up again next year. We've got a two-year extension of current tax rates right now. I think we can stipulate this is an issue upon which there is deep-seated difference of opinion.

MR. GREGORY: But -- so here's, here's the issue that I, that I keep coming back to, which is aren't you Republican leaders guilty of the same thing that you accuse the president of on health care, which is not doing enough to build actual political consensus around these issues? If you're not going to give anything up on taxes but you want to bring the deficit down, you say, no, these are iron-clad principles. I mean, that's where the -- you said the president was on health care. How do we, how do we tackle real problems?

SEN. McCONNELL: But that's not where they are on, on the issue we were talking about earlier in the program. You've got the president, the vice president, President Clinton, Steny Hoyer all saying that Medicare has to change. So they're -- that's not something we don't agree on. We're going to, we're going to discuss...

MR. GREGORY: That's a long way from changing the Medicare program the way Paul Ryan wants to.

SEN. McCONNELL: Well, we're going to discuss how to do it. But what we're saying on taxes is it isn't necessary. I mean, we don't have this problem because we tax too little.

MR. GREGORY: Can I ask you two quick ones? Elizabeth Warren, who is supposed to head up this consumer bureau...

SEN. McCONNELL: Mm-hmm.

MR. GREGORY: ...the president's appointment to do that, would you back her, or would you join Republicans who -- to block her nomination?

SEN. McCONNELL: Well, we're pretty unenthusiastic about the possibility of Elizabeth Warren. We're pretty unenthusiastic, frankly, about this new agency, and we've sent a letter to the president saying that some changes need to made -- be made in the CFPB, the Consumer Financial Protection Board, because as it's currently constituted, it answers to no one and, I think, could be a serious threat to our financial system.

MR. GREGORY: And what about politics? You have said that the big goal of the Republicans is to make this president a one-term president.

SEN. McCONNELL: Of course.

MR. GREGORY: Yet 22 percent of those polled indicate they've got no preference for any Republican running. Is not having a clear nominee a good thing, a bad thing or a normal thing?

SEN. McCONNELL: You know what I'm reminded of in -- how the Jimmy Carter White House was thinking in '79 and '80, they were pulling for Ronald Reagan. They thought he was too extreme and too old. And surely if he was the nominee, they'd be just fine. Somebody's going to get on a winning streak here on our side. And when you start winning, people start paying attention. This is going to be an extremely competitive contest for the president next year.

MR. GREGORY: And what impact will Sarah Palin have if she becomes a nominee?

SEN. McCONNELL: She'll go out there and compete like all the rest of them. It's going to be fun to watch.

MR. GREGORY: Maybe I'll just go back to asking you about Medicare. Senator, thank you very much.

TEXT IMAGE and VIDEO CREDIT: Meet The Press

Eric Cantor Weekly Republican Address TEXT PODCAST VIDEO 05/28/11

Podcast of the address: Download MP3 for PODCAST || FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT BELOW. || Download Video MPEG Video || MP4 Video

“Hello, I’m Eric Cantor, House Majority Leader from the 7th District of Virginia. “I’m happy to be with you this Memorial Day, as we spend time with family and friends in festive gatherings and thoughtful ceremonies to honor those brave Americans who gave their lives in service to our country.

It is their sacrifice that has kept America free and strong. Let us pay them tribute by renewing our resolve to promote lasting peace and liberty across the globe.

“As we spend time with family this weekend, our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Joplin, Missouri, Oklahoma City, and other areas of our country that are facing unthinkable circumstances and terrible tragedy. Please know that Congress stands ready for a request for funding from President Obama to ensure that the resources are available to help these communities rebuild and recover.

“Americans have a rich history of standing tall in tough times and going the extra mile to propel ourselves forward. Whether it was the American Revolution, the Industrial Revolution or the Internet Revolution: we are unique in our ability to apply creativity, intellect and leadership to solve any problem.

“Now we face new obstacles as this country finds itself at a crossroads. Before us is a choice about who we want to be as a country:

“Do we want a future with more taxes and more government? Or do we want to see more growth and more jobs?

“We saw the former when Democrat –controlled Washington enacted the nearly trillion-dollar stimulus program which drove up our debt and failed to get people back to work. And it took a sweeping Republican electoral victory to stop President Obama, Leader Reid, and Leader Pelosi from imposing one of the largest tax increases in America history.

“Now, as the summer of 2011 approaches, far too many our family members, neighbors and friends are still out of work.

“To be strong, to lead, to grow, and to empower people - here’s what we’ve got to do.

“We’ve got to shift from a government that smothers new jobs and business growth to one that nurtures an environment for getting people back to work and back to what Americans do best: innovate, compete and lead.

“That’s why Republicans promised to focus on jobs in our Pledge to America and have been committed to economic growth and jobs since Day One. Beginning in January we adopted a two-track strategy we call ‘Cut and Grow.’

“The first part – ‘Cut’ – is obvious. We know that Washington has to stop spending money we don’t have and manage the money we do spend more wisely. Families are tightening their belts and sticking to a budget - and Washington should, too.

“But we also understand that cutting alone isn’t enough to address our debt crisis or get people back to work. We must also ‘Grow.’

“For too long, Washington has relied on gimmicks or government-knows-best solutions. No more.

“Now, more than ever, our nation needs small businesses and entrepreneurs to get people back to work.

“That’s why this week we continue to build on the Pledge to America and our work over the past five months by unveiling our plan to help the nation’s job creators grow the economy and start hiring.

“Our plan for America’s job creators injects a dose of commonsense, pro-growth economic policies to give our businessmen and women the tools they need to get the for-hire signs back in their windows again.

“First, we must fix the tax code and remove loopholes and giveaways to special interests. We achieve that by reducing the overall tax rate to no more than 25% for businesses and individuals – including small business owners. This makes the tax code simpler, flatter, and more fair.

“We’ll increase competitiveness for American manufacturers. The more that businesses export, the more they produce. The more they produce, the more workers they need. This means more available jobs. By enacting agreements with Colombia, South Korea, and Panama, which have been held up by President Obama, we can create hundreds of thousands of jobs. There is no excuse for delaying trade agreements that create jobs at home while our foreign competitors are making them.

“Next we will stop and repeal any onerous regulations that are barriers to growth and prosperity.

“Last week in my hometown of Richmond, I held a forum with job creators and business owners from all over Virginia. They made it clear to me that Washington is stopping them from innovating and hiring more workers by pursuing hundreds of onerous and unnecessary regulations.

“Frankly, this Administration’s regulators have gone on an ideological offensive against businesses that is costing our country billions of dollars and countless jobs. Yet this same Administration is telling America’s businessmen and women to create more jobs.

“Small business owners and entrepreneurs tell me that they want government to work WITH them rather than AGAINST them. Smart regulations are fine, as long as they help steer businesses into the black rather than into a tangle of red tape.

“Of course the summer months bring family travel and no doubt they are feeling the pain at the pump. So are small business owners, who are coping with crippling energy costs. Yet America lacks a realistic national energy strategy that will truly meet our country’s needs in the 21st Century.

“We cannot wait for this Administration or the Democrat-led Senate to act – they have had ample time and done nothing.

“So Republicans will take immediate action through our American Energy Initiative by passing bipartisan legislation to expand energy exploration and maximize domestic production. This will help create American jobs, grow our economy, and enhance our security.

“All of these elements will help encourage growth and long-term economic stability. By putting in place policies that encourage businesses to expand, innovators to innovate, and allows leaders to lead we will not only begin to put our budget on a path to balance, but we’ll get Americans working again.

“This Memorial Day, we are reminded that the true grit of Americans is passed from one generation to the next, so long as government remains limited and opportunity remains unlimited, through free markets and a fair playing field.

“Americans will out-work, out-hustle and, yes, ‘out-innovate the rest of the world.’

“Individual initiative in the private sector has been and always will be the source of America’s prosperity provided we don’t stifle it.

“In America, our parents taught us and their parents taught them that, ‘No matter who you are, no matter where you come from, everyone’s got a fair shot, not guaranteed success but the opportunity to work hard and get ahead.’

“Our history is rich with people who achieved greatness through hard work, thrift and faith without interference from an overbearing, over-burdensome government.

“Let’s get Washington out of the way. Let’s give our nation’s businessmen and women what they need to succeed. Let’s make sure that people out of work can find a job. And let’s get this great country back on the right track.

“If you have a spare moment, I’d encourage you to read more about our plan to create jobs at gop.gov/jobs. Thank you.”

VIDEO and IMAGE CREDIT: HouseConference

TEXT CREDIT: Speaker of the House John Boehner Contact H-232 The Capitol Washington, DC 20515 P (202) 225-0600 F (202) 225-5117

AUDIO / VIDEO FILES CREDIT: The House Republican Conference - Digital Communications visual.media@mail.house.gov 202-225-5439

Herman Cain New Hampshire Republican Coffee and Conversation Event 05/30/11

Coffee and Conversation Event With Presidential Candidate Herman Cain.

5/30/2011 9am

Join Presidential Candidate Herman Cain for a Coffee and Conversation Event at the Beantown Cafe. Monday May 30th from am to 10:30am at the Beantowne Cafe 201 Rte 111 Hampstead, NH Please RSVP to Matt Murphy at matt.murphy@hermancain.com or 603-475-8435.

Address: Beantown Cafe 201 Rte 111 Hampstead, NH 03841 Contact: Matthew Murphy matt.murphy@hermancain.com 603-475-8435

TEXT CREDIT: New Hampshire Republican Party 10 Water St | Concord, NH 03301 p: (603) 225-9341 | f: (603) 225-7498

IMAGE CREDIT: Herman Cain by Gage Skidmore, on Flickr.

Rudy Giuliani New Hampshire Republican Chairman's Speaker Series Thursday, June 2nd, 2011

Rudy Giuliani New Hampshire Republican Chairman's Speaker Series Thursday, June 2nd, 2011

NH GOP Chairman's Speaker Series - Mayor Rudy Giuliani 6/2/2011


Please Join Us for a Republican State Committee Fundraiser

“The Chairman’s Speaker Series” Featured Speaker: Mayor Rudy Giuliani

Thursday, June 2nd, 2011 6:00-7:00pm Exclusive VIP Reception 7:00pm Reception / Speech At the home of Dan Philbrick Three River Farm Dover, NH

Donations:

$200.00 per person or $300.00 per couple VIP Reception / Speech Includes 1 photograph Or $75.00 per person Speech only

Space is limited. Please RSVP immediately.

Paid for by the New Hampshire Republican State Committee and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee. Contributions to the New Hampshire Republican State Committee are not deductible for federal income tax purposes.

Contact: Ellen Christo ellen@nhgop.org (603) 225-9341

TEXT CREDIT: New Hampshire Republican Party 10 Water St | Concord, NH 03301 p: (603) 225-9341 | f: (603) 225-7498

Tom Coburn Report “The National Science Foundation: Under the Microscope” Exposing Waste, Mismanagement FULL PDF VIDEO

“The National Science Foundation: Under the Microscope” FULL TEXT in PDF FORMAT

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, M.D. (R-OK) today released a new oversight report, “The National Science Foundation: Under the Microscope” that raises serious questions regarding the agency’s management and priorities. The report identifies more than $1.2 billion the National Science Foundation (NSF) has lost due to waste, fraud, duplication and mismanagement and an additional $1.7 billion in unspent funds.

“As a practicing physician and a two-time cancer survivor, I understand the benefits of scientific research. Investing in innovation and discovery can transform our lives, advance our understanding of the world and create new jobs. There is no question NSF serves an important –and legitimate – purpose in our society and has contributed to scientific discovery. As the NSF accurately notes, advances like the Internet, cloud computing, bar codes and magnetic resonance imaging technology were supported with investments from NSF,” Dr. Coburn said.

“Unfortunately, in some ways NSF has undermined its core mission through mismanagement and misplaced priorities. For instance, spending taxpayer dollars to study why some college basketball teams dominate March Madness, funding trips for romantically-involved NSF employees and duplicating programs contributes to our debt rather than science,” Dr. Coburn said.

“As part of my commitment to conduct better oversight on how Washington spends your money, this NSF report is the latest in a series of oversight reports. At a time when the U.S. is being both challenged as the world's scientific and technological leader and threatened by a nearly insurmountable $14 trillion debt, we must learn to do more with less. This report demonstrates how NSF can do both. I hope NSF and the scientific community will welcome this oversight and offer insights on how to better prioritize our nation’s limited financial resources to advance science and reduce wasteful spending,” Dr. Coburn said.

Examples of the more than $3 billion in waste and duplication outlined in the report include:

• $80,000 study on why the same teams always dominate March Madness;

• $315,000 study suggesting playing FarmVille on Facebook helps adults develop and maintain relationships;

• $1 million for an analysis of how quickly parents respond to trendy baby names;

• $50,000 to produce and publicize amateur songs about science, including a rap called “Money 4 Drugz,” and a misleading song titled “Biogas is a Gas, Gas, Gas”;

• $2 million to figure out that people who often post pictures on the internet from the same location at the same time are usually friends; and

• $581,000 on whether online dating site users are racist.

Additionally, the report details examples of mismanagement including:

• Hundreds of millions of dollars lost to ineffective contracting;

• $1.7 billion in unspent funds sitting in expired, undisbursed grant accounts;

• At least $3 million in excessive travel funds

• A lack of accountability or program metrics to evaluate expenditures.

• Inappropriate staff behavior including porn surfing and Jello wrestling and skinny-dipping at NSF-operated facilities in Antarctica.

The report also identifies duplication between NSF and other departments and agencies. NSF is one of at least 15 federal departments, 72 sub-agencies, and 12 independent agencies engaged in federal research and development.

NSF also duplicates the work of the Department of Education and other government agencies in the area of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education. In 2010, there were 28 STEM education programs at NSF totaling $1.2 billion. Across the federal government, there are 99 STEM education programs totaling $3 billion.

Finally, the report makes a number of recommendations:

• Establish Clear Guidelines for What Constitutes “Transformative” and “Potentially Transformative” Science. The agency has begun this process, but much more needs to be done to evaluate the merit of each project funded by the agency.

• Set Clear Metrics to Measure Success and Standards to Ensure Accountability. The agency clearly needs to improve its grant administration and evaluation mechanisms. Addressing these areas will help set better priorities while also rooting out fraudulent and inappropriate expenditures.

• Eliminate NSF’s Social, Behavioral, and Economics (SBE) Directorate ($255 million in FY 2010). The social sciences should not be the focus of our premier basic scientific research agency.

• Consolidate the Directorate for Education & Human Resources ($872 million in FY 2010). In addition to excessive duplication within the agency and across the federal government, spending on education and human resources comes at the expense of actual scientific pursuits. Consolidation can lead to increased investment in transformative scientific studies.

• Use It or Lose It: NSF Should Better Manage Resources It Can No Longer Spend or Does Not Need and Immediately Return $1.7 Billion of Unspent, Expired Funds It Currently Holds. Better grant management and closeout procedures could increase available funds for research and provide savings for the federal government.

• Reduce Duplication: Develop a Strategic Plan to Streamline Federal Research and Development. With so many agencies performing research and development, the White House Office of Science and Technology should develop a strategic plan to better coordinate research and development efforts and make specific recommendations to eliminate duplication.

• Provide the NSF Inspector General Additional Resources and Place a Greater Emphasis on the Office of Inspector General’s Findings. Reducing outright fraud and inappropriate expenditures is an important priority.

###

TEXT and PDF CREDIT: Tom Coburn, M.D., United States Senator from Oklahoma Washington D.C.: 172 Russell Senate Office Bldg. Washington, DC 20510 Main: 202-224-5754 Fax: 202-224-6008

VIDEO and IMAGE CREDIT: SenatorCoburn

The House Republican Plan for America’s Job Creators.Empowering Families, Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs FULL PDF VIDEO

The House Republican Plan for America’s Job Creators.Empowering Families, Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs FULL TEXT in PDF FORMAT

Speaker Boehner and Leader Cantor on the Plan for America's Job Creators.

WASHINGTON, DC (May 26)

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) made the following remarks at an event with House Republicans today unveiling a Plan for America’s Job Creators. The plan builds on the Pledge to America and is designed to foster innovation and investment, tackle our debt, and help business owners create jobs without raising taxes on working families and small businesses. The VIDEO and TEXT TRANSCRIPT of Speaker Boehner’s remarks are above and below:

“Since the moment Americans entrusted us with the majority, our focus has been on job creation. Americans continue to look at all the ‘stimulus’ spending that was enacted under the current administration and ask the question, ‘Well then, where are the jobs?’ Our focus in the House since January has been on passing reforms that would take a different approach – policies aimed at creating an environment for long-term job growth. It starts with the Pledge to America, which focused on helping small businesses create jobs and reining in our massive debt that is hurting economic growth. And so far this year we’ve kept our pledge by passing legislation to ease the regulatory burden, expand American energy production, repeal the job-crushing health care law, and many more.

“Unfortunately, rather than joining Republicans in focusing on policies that create jobs and promote economic growth, the Democrats who control Washington continue to propose higher taxes, more ‘stimulus’ spending, and even more regulations. That’s a recipe for economic uncertainty for private-sector job creators and it won’t help families and small businesses who are struggling to make ends meet. Listen, I used to be a small businessman before I got into this. I know what it takes to create jobs and then meet a payroll. And I know that every tax dollar the government takes is a dollar that Americans are unable to invest in their family, their business, or our economy.

“So today we are unveiling a Plan for America’s Job Creators that’s focused on creating lasting economic growth and job creation. It builds on our Pledge to America and the legislative action that we’re already taking this year to create jobs, which the Democrats continue to block. It will remove government obstacles to private-sector growth – the kind of real economic growth that the Obama ‘stimulus’ proposed but failed to deliver.

“The truth is we’ll never balance our budget and rid our children of debt until we cut spending AND have real economic growth. That’s why both House & Senate Republicans are focused on creating a better environment for private sector job creation. Helping Americans get back to work is our number one priority, and we’re going to do everything we can to help create jobs and to boost our economy.”

TEXT CREDIT: Speaker of the House John Boehner H-232 The Capitol Washington, DC 20515 P (202) 225-0600 F (202) 225-5117

VIDEO and IMAGE CREDIT: JohnBoehner

PDF CREDIT: www.gop.gov/

Eric Cantor delivered the following remarks after Prime Minister Netanyahu addressed a joint session of Congress 05/24/11 VIDEO

Majority Leader Eric Cantor Welcomes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Washington, D.C. – Yesterday morning, Prime Minister Netanyahu addressed a joint session of Congress. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) delivered the following remarks at a press conference following the address:

“Mr. Prime Minister, welcome, I think we heard today the tremendous challenges that the people of Israel face, the existential threat that they face in the Middle East, as do we. I think you heard today the resounding bipartisan support for the U.S. - Israel relationship to remain strong and will continue.”

VIDEO CREDIT: EricCantor

TEXT and IMAGE CREDIT: Office of the Majority Leader H-329, The Capitol House of Representatives P: 202.225.4000

Allen West released this statement yesterday after an address from Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to a Joint Session of Congress

Congressman West Statement on Israel Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu Speech to Congress

(WASHINGTON) ---- Congressman Allen West (FL-22) released this statement yesterday after an address from Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to a Joint Session of Congress:

"Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu today provided a clear vision of his nation's role in the Middle East. The Prime Minister is clearly committed to peace for his people and for the entire Middle East.

As I sat on the House Floor, the Prime Minister portrayed leadership, integrity and strength when he spoke of his beloved country, its remarkable past and its optimistic future. I want to make myself clear when I say that America must stand, and will always stand, by Israel.

I support the Prime Minister when he says: 'Jerusalem must remain the Capital of Israel' and 'Israel will not return to the indefensible borders of 1967.' Asking to return to these borders would deny a half million Jewish people their rightful home.

Despite what President Barack Obama has said, Israel cannot have peace with a partner that continues on the path of violence and the ultimate destruction of Israel. The Palestinian Authority remains in a pact with the terrorist organization, Hamas, and until that bond is destroyed, Israel cannot be expected to negotiate with the Palestinian Authority. It is incumbent upon Mahmoud Abbas to definitively disclose and support the right of existence of the modern day state of Israel.

As the Prime Minister spoke, I once again recommitted my unwavering determination that the United States must defend Israel from all of its enemies, the same enemies that also want to destroy the United States.

I commend Prime Minister Netanyahu for being a true, visionary leader of the Middle East. America must continue to build an even stronger, more united partnership with Israel, our greatest ally in the Middle East." ###

TEXT CREDIT: Congressman Allen West 1708 Longworth HOB Washington, DC 20515 ph: 202-225-3026 • fx: 202-225-8398

IMAGE CREDIT: By AllenWest All Rights Reserved.

Tim Griffin issued the following statement today after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress

Griffin Applauds Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Speech. WASHINGTON– Congressman Tim Griffin (AR-02) issued the following statement today after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress:

“I applaud the Prime Minister’s commitment to our shared goal of peace. His speech was particularly important given the President’s recent comments regarding Israel’s 1967 borders. Regardless of what the President meant, he sent the wrong message to Israel and the world. The people of Israel are our friends and are critical to peace and stability in the Middle East, and I believe the United States must stand up for Israel and its right to exist.”

TEXT CREDIT: Congressman Tim Griffin Washington, DC 1232 Longworth HOB Washington, DC 20515 Phone: (202) 225-2506 Fax: (202) 225-5903 Hours: Monday-Friday 9:00AM-6:00PM Eastern Time.

IMAGE CREDIT: All rights reserved by reptimgriffin

Benjamin Netanyahu speech to Joint Meeting of the United States Congress 05/24/11 FULL TEXT and VIDEO

>

Benjamin Netanyahu speech to a Joint Meeting of the United States Congress FULL TEXT and VIDEO The full TEXT TRANSCRIPT speech to a Joint Meeting of the United States Congress - האמריקני הנאום המלא בפני הקונגרס I am deeply honored by your warm welcome. And I am deeply honored that you have given me the opportunity to address Congress a second time.

Mr. Vice President, do you remember the time we were the new kids in town? And I do see a lot of old friends here. And I do see a lot of new friends of Israel here. Democrats and Republicans alike.

Israel has no better friend than America. And America has no better friend than Israel. We stand together to defend democracy. We stand together to advance peace. We stand together to fight terrorism. Congratulations America, Congratulations, Mr. President. You got bin Laden. Good riddance.

In an unstable Middle East, Israel is the one anchor of stability. In a region of shifting alliances, Israel is America’s unwavering ally. Israel has always been pro-American. Israel will always be pro-American.

My friends, you don’t need to do nation building in Israel. We’re already built. You don’t need to export democracy to Israel. We’ve already got it. You don’t need to send American troops to defend Israel. We defend ourselves. You’ve been very generous in giving us tools to do the job of defending Israel on our own. Thank you all, and thank you President Obama, for your steadfast commitment to Israel’s security. I know economic times are tough. I deeply appreciate this.

Support for Israel’s security is a wise investment in our common future. For an epic battle is now unfolding in the Middle East, between tyranny and freedom. A great convulsion is shaking the earth from the Khyber Pass to the Straits of Gibraltar. The tremors have shattered states and toppled governments. And we can all see that the ground is still shifting. Now this historic moment holds the promise of a new dawn of freedom and opportunity. Millions of young people are determined to change their future. We all look at them. They muster courage. They risk their lives. They demand dignity. They desire liberty.

These extraordinary scenes in Tunis and Cairo, evoke those of Berlin and Prague in 1989. Yet as we share their hopes, but we also must also remember that those hopes could be snuffed out as they were in Tehran in 1979. You remember what happened then. The brief democratic spring in Iran was cut short by a ferocious and unforgiving tyranny. This same tyranny smothered Lebanon’s democratic Cedar Revolution, and inflicted on that long-suffering country, the medieval rule of Hezbollah.

So today, the Middle East stands at a fateful crossroads. Like all of you, I pray that the peoples of the region choose the path less travelled, the path of liberty. No one knows what this path consists of better than you. This path is not paved by elections alone. It is paved when governments permit protests in town squares, when limits are placed on the powers of rulers, when judges are beholden to laws and not men, and when human rights cannot be crushed by tribal loyalties or mob rule.

Israel has always embraced this path, in the Middle East has long rejected it. In a region where women are stoned, gays are hanged, Christians are persecuted, Israel stands out. It is different.

As the great English writer George Eliot predicted over a century ago, that once established, the Jewish state will "shine like a bright star of freedom amid the despotisms of the East”. Well, she was right. We have a free press, independent courts, an open economy, rambunctious parliamentary debates.You think you guys are tough on one another in Congress? Come spend a day in the Knesset. Be my guest.

Courageous Arab protesters, are now struggling to secure these very same rights for their peoples, for their societies. We're proud that over one million Arab citizens of Israel have been enjoying these rights for decades. Of the 300 million Arabs in the Middle East and North Africa, only Israel’s Arab citizens enjoy real democratic rights. I want you to stop for a second and think about that. Of those 300 million Arabs, less than one-half of one-percent are truly free, and they're all citizens of Israel.

This startling fact reveals a basic truth: Israel is not what is wrong about the Middle East. Israel is what is right about the Middle East.

Israel fully supports the desire of Arab peoples in our region to live freely. We long for the day when Israel will be one of many real democracies in the Middle East. Fifteen years ago, I stood at this very podium, and said that democracy must start to take root in the Arab World. Well, it's begun to take root. This beginning holds the promise of a brilliant future of peace and prosperity. For I believe that a Middle East that is genuinely democratic will be a Middle East truly at peace.

But while we hope and work for the best, we must also recognize that powerful forces oppose this future.They oppose modernity. They oppose democracy. They oppose peace. Foremost among these forces is Iran. The tyranny in Tehran brutalizes its own people. It supports attacks against American troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. It subjugates Lebanon and Gaza. It sponsors terror worldwide.

When I last stood here, I spoke of the dire consequences of Iran developing nuclear weapons. Now time is running out, and the hinge of history may soon turn. For the greatest danger facing humanity could soon be upon us: A militant Islamic regime armed with nuclear weapons.

Militant Islam threatens the world. It threatens Islam. I have no doubt that it will ultimately be defeated. It will eventually succumb to the forces of freedom and progress. But like other fanaticisms that were doomed to fail, militant Islam could exact a horrific price from all of us before its inevitable demise.

A nuclear-armed Iran would ignite a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. It would give terrorists a nuclear umbrella. It would make the nightmare of nuclear terrorism a clear and present danger throughout the world. I want you to understand what this means. They could put the bomb anywhere. They could put it on a missile. It could be on a container ship in a port, or in a suitcase on a subway.

Now the threat to my country cannot be overstated. Those who dismiss it are sticking their heads in the sand. Less than seven decades after six million Jews were murdered, Iran's leaders deny the Holocaust of the Jewish people, while calling for the annihilation of the Jewish state.

Leaders who spew such venom, should be banned from every respectable forum on the planet. But there is something that makes the outrage even greater: The lack of outrage. In much of the international community, the calls for our destruction are met with utter silence. It is even worse because there are many who rush to condemn Israel for defending itself against Iran’s terror proxies.

But not you. Not America. You have acted differently. You've condemned the Iranian regime for its genocidal aims. You’ve passed tough sanctions against Iran. History will salute you, America.

President Obama has said that the United States is determined to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. He successfully led the Security Council to adopt sanctions against Iran. You in Congress passed even tougher sanctions. These words and deeds are vitally important.

Yet the Ayatollah regime briefly suspended its nuclear program only once, in 2003, when it feared the possibility of military action. That same year, Muammar Qadaffi gave up his nuclear weapons program, and for the same reason. The more Iran believes that all options are on the table, the less the chance of confrontation. This is why I ask you to continue to send an unequivocal message: That America will never permit Iran to develop nuclear weapons.

As for Israel, if history has taught the Jewish people anything, it is that we must take calls for our destruction seriously. We are a nation that rose from the ashes of the Holocaust. When we say never again, we mean never again. Israel always reserves the right to defend itself.

My friends, while Israel will be ever vigilant in its defense, we will never give up on our quest for peace. I guess we’ll give it up when we achieve it. Israel wants peace. Israel needs peace. We've achieved historic peace agreements with Egypt and Jordan that have held up for decades.

I remember what it was like before we had peace. I was nearly killed in a firefight inside the Suez Canal. I mean that literally. I battled terrorists along both banks of the Jordan River. Too many Israelis have lost loved ones. I know their grief. I lost my brother.

So no one in Israel wants a return to those terrible days. The peace with Egypt and Jordan has long served as an anchor of stability and peace in the heart of the Middle East.

This peace should be bolstered by economic and political support to all those who remain committed to peace.

The peace agreements with Egypt and Jordan are vital. But they're not enough. We must also find a way to forge a lasting peace with the Palestinians. Two years ago, I publicly committed to a solution of two states for two peoples: A Palestinian state alongside the Jewish state.

I am willing to make painful compromises to achieve this historic peace. As the leader of Israel, it is my responsibility to lead my people to peace. This is not easy for me. I recognize that in a genuine peace, we will be required to give up parts of the Jewish homeland. In Judea and Samaria, the Jewish people are not foreign occupiers. We are not the British in India. We are not the Belgians in the Congo.

This is the land of our forefathers, the Land of Israel, to which Abraham brought the idea of one God, where David set out to confront Goliath, and where Isaiah saw a vision of eternal peace. No distortion of history can deny the four thousand year old bond, between the Jewish people and the Jewish land.

But there is another truth: The Palestinians share this small land with us. We seek a peace in which they will be neither Israel’s subjects nor its citizens. They should enjoy a national life of dignity as a free, viable and independent people in their own state. They should enjoy a prosperous economy, where their creativity and initiative can flourish.

We've already seen the beginnings of what is possible. In the last two years, the Palestinians have begun to build a better life for themselves. Prime Minister Fayad has led this effort. I wish him a speedy recovery from his recent operation. We've helped the Palestinian economy by removing hundreds of barriers and roadblocks to the free flow of goods and people. The results have been nothing short of remarkable. The Palestinian economy is booming. It's growing by more than 10% a year.

Palestinian cities look very different today than they did just a few years ago. They have shopping malls, movie theaters, restaurants, banks. They even have e-businesses. This is all happening without peace. Imagine what could happen with peace. Peace would herald a new day for both peoples. It would make the dream of a broader Arab-Israeli peace a realistic possibility.

So now here is the question. You have to ask it. If the benefits of peace with the Palestinians are so clear, why has peace eluded us? Because all six Israeli Prime Ministers since the signing of Oslo accords agreed to establish a Palestinian state. Myself included. So why has peace not been achieved? Because so far, the Palestinians have been unwilling to accept a Palestinian state, if it meant accepting a Jewish state alongside it.

You see, our conflict has never been about the establishment of a Palestinian state. It has always been about the existence of the Jewish state. This is what this conflict is about. In 1947, the United Nations voted to partition the land into a Jewish state and an Arab state. The Jews said yes. The Palestinians said no. In recent years, the Palestinians twice refused generous offers by Israeli Prime Ministers, to establish a Palestinian state on virtually all the territory won by Israel in the Six Day War.

They were simply unwilling to end the conflict. And I regret to say this: They continue to educate their children to hate. They continue to name public squares after terrorists. And worst of all, they continue to perpetuate the fantasy that Israel will one day be flooded by the descendants of Palestinian refugees.

My friends, this must come to an end. President Abbas must do what I have done. I stood before my people, and I told you it wasn’t easy for me, and I said - "I will accept a Palestinian state". It is time for President Abbas to stand before his people and say - "I will accept a Jewish state".

Those six words will change history. They will make clear to the Palestinians that this conflict must come to an end. That they are not building a state to continue the conflict with Israel, but to end it. They will convince the people of Israel that they have a true partner for peace. With such a partner, the people of Israel will be prepared to make a far reaching compromise. I will be prepared to make a far reaching compromise.

This compromise must reflect the dramatic demographic changes that have occurred since 1967. The vast majority of the 650,000 Israelis who live beyond the 1967 lines, reside in neighborhoods and suburbs of Jerusalem and Greater Tel Aviv.

These areas are densely populated but geographically quite small. Under any realistic peace agreement, these areas, as well as other places of critical strategic and national importance, will be incorporated into the final borders of Israel.

The status of the settlements will be decided only in negotiations. But we must also be honest. So I am saying today something that should be said publicly by anyone serious about peace. In any peace agreement that ends the conflict, some settlements will end up beyond Israel’s borders. The precise delineation of those borders must be negotiated. We will be very generous on the size of a future Palestinian state. But as President Obama said, the border will be different than the one that existed on June 4, 1967. Israel will not return to the indefensible lines of 1967.

We recognize that a Palestinian state must be big enough to be viable, independent and prosperous. President Obama rightly referred to Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people, just as he referred to the future Palestinian state as the homeland of the Palestinian people. Jews from around the world have a right to immigrate to the Jewish state. Palestinians from around the world should have a right to immigrate, if they so choose, to a Palestinian state. This means that the Palestinian refugee problem will be resolved outside the borders of Israel.

As for Jerusalem, only a democratic Israel has protected freedom of worship for all faiths in the city. Jerusalem must never again be divided. Jerusalem must remain the united capital of Israel. I know that this is a difficult issue for Palestinians. But I believe with creativity and goodwill a solution can be found.

This is the peace I plan to forge with a Palestinian partner committed to peace. But you know very well, that in the Middle East, the only peace that will hold is a peace you can defend.

So peace must be anchored in security. In recent years, Israel withdrew from South Lebanon and Gaza. But we didn't get peace. Instead, we got 12,000 thousand rockets fired from those areas on our cities, on our children, by Hezbollah and Hamas. The UN peacekeepers in Lebanon failed to prevent the smuggling of this weaponry. The European observers in Gaza evaporated overnight. So if Israel simply walked out of the territories, the flow of weapons into a future Palestinian state would be unchecked. Missiles fired from it could reach virtually every home in Israel in less than a minute. I want you to think about that too. Imagine that right now we all had less than 60 seconds to find shelter from an incoming rocket. Would you live that way? Would anyone live that way? Well, we aren’t going to live that way either.

The truth is that Israel needs unique security arrangements because of its unique size. Israel is one of the smallest countries in the world. Mr. Vice President, I'll grant you this. It’s bigger than Delaware. It’s even bigger than Rhode Island. But that’s about it. Israel on the 1967 lines would be half the width of the Washington Beltway.

Now here’s a bit of nostalgia. I first came to Washington thirty years ago as a young diplomat. It took me a while, but I finally figured it out: There is an America beyond the Beltway. But Israel on the 1967 lines would be only nine miles wide. So much for strategic depth.

So it is therefore absolutely vital for Israel’s security that a Palestinian state be fully demilitarized. And it is vital that Israel maintain a long-term military presence along the Jordan River. Solid security arrangements on the ground are necessary not only to protect the peace, they are necessary to protect Israel in case the peace unravels. For in our unstable region, no one can guarantee that our peace partners today will be there tomorrow.

And when I say tomorrow, I don't mean some distant time in the future. I mean tomorrow. Peace can be achieved only around the negotiating table. The Palestinian attempt to impose a settlement through the United Nations will not bring peace. It should be forcefully opposed by all those who want to see this conflict end. I appreciate the President’s clear position on this issue. Peace cannot be imposed. It must be negotiated. But it can only be negotiated with partners committed to peace.

And Hamas is not a partner for peace. Hamas remains committed to Israel's destruction and to terrorism. They have a charter. That charter not only calls for the obliteration of Israel, but says ‘kill the Jews wherever you find them’. Hamas’ leader condemned the killing of Osama bin Laden and praised him as a holy warrior. Now again I want to make this clear. Israel is prepared to sit down today and negotiate peace with the Palestinian Authority. I believe we can fashion a brilliant future of peace for our children. But Israel will not negotiate with a Palestinian government backed by the Palestinian version of Al Qaeda.

So I say to President Abbas: Tear up your pact with Hamas, Sit down and negotiate! Make peace with the Jewish state! And if you do, I promise you this. Israel will not be the last country to welcome a Palestinian state as a new member of the United Nations. It will be the first to do so.

My friends, the momentous trials of the last century, and the unfolding events of this century, attest to the decisive role of the United States in advancing peace and defending freedom. Providence entrusted the United States to be the guardian of liberty. All peoples who cherish freedom owe a profound debt of gratitude to your great nation. Among the most grateful nations is my nation, the people of Israel, who have fought for their liberty and survival against impossible odds, in ancient and modern times alike.

I speak on behalf of the Jewish people and the Jewish state when I say to you, representatives of America, Thank you. Thank you for your unwavering support for Israel. Thank you for ensuring that the flame of freedom burns bright throughout the world. May God bless all of you. And may God forever bless the United States of America.

VIDEO CREDIT: www.c-span.org/

TEXT CREDIT: Benjamin Netanyahu - בנימין נתניהו

IMAGE CREDIT: ABC News