decade. and because of that, as senator chambliss said, he doubled the number of shrarps going out to -- scholarships going out to georgiaans to come to southern university. number one. number two as a former chairman of a state board education and one whose passion is education, i love what dr. gruby did when he put in the first year experience program at georgia southern university, a program designed to make the first year experience a lasting experience so student retention improved at georgia southern and more kids who entered graduated. since the inception of that program, resengs at georgia southern university has gone from 66% of the freshman class to 81% of the freshman class. four out of five retaining and returning and getting their degree at georgia southern university. and, third, you know, among everything else that a president of a university does in terms of responsibility, it is so important that they outreach to

the community. and when you go to bullet county in states boro georgia, if you're at the restaurant for breakfast, dr. grube is there. if you're interacting with students under the shade of a pine tree, dr. grube is there, he is a the face of georgia southern university and he will be missed. but only for a year. because after a brief sabbatical, he comes back to teach political science at georgia southern university he returns to his roots established in his doctorate degree at the university of texas in political science an carried on for years to come as a professor of political science at georgia southern university. so am i proud to rise with my colleague, senator chambliss, pay tribute to a great georgian, a great educator, and my personal friend, dr. bruce grube. and i yield back my time and

suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the

republican leader. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, i'm going to proceed on my leader time, which i did not use earlier this morning. when it coming to reforming health care, republicans believe that both political parties should work together to make it less expensive and easier to obtain while preserving what people like about our current system. that's why republicans have put forward ideas that should be easy for everyone to support, such as reforming medical malpractice laws to get rid of junk lawsuits. encouraging wellness and prevention programs that have already been shown to cut costs. and addressing the needs of small businesses without asbestossing taxes that kill jobs. -- without imposing taxes that kill jobs. opponents on capitol hill opted against many of these commonsense proposals moving instead in the direction of a

government-run system that denies, delays and rations care. so it's my hope that the president uses his prime time question-and-answer session at the white house tonight to clearly express where he himself comes down on a number of crucial questions. one question relates to whether americans would be able to keep the care they have if the democratic plan is enacted. the president and democrats in congress have repeatedly promised americans that this could keep their health insurance, yet the independent congressional budget office says that just one section -- one section -- of the democratic bill being rushed through congress at the moment would cause 10 million people with employer-based insurance to lose the coverage that they currently have. another independent study of a full proposal that includes a government-run plan estimates that 119 million americans, or approximately 70% of those covered under private health insurance, could lose the health

insurance they have as a consequence of a government plan. america's doctors, who also warn that a government plan threatens to drive private insurers out of business. and yesterday the president himself acknowledged that under a government plan, some people might be shifted off of their current insurance. so the first question is this: will the president veto any legislation that causes americans to lose their private insurance? the president also said that health care reform can't add to the already staggering national debt. yet, once again the congressional budget office has said that just one section of the democrats' "help" committee bill would spend $1.3 trillion while others estimate the whole thing could end up spending more than $2 trillion. and here's how the c.b.o. put it. the substantial cost of many current proposals to expand

federal subsidies for health insurance would be much more likely to worsen -- worsen -- the long-run budget outlook than to improve it. let me repeat that, mr. president. the c.b.o. -- the congressional budget office -- says that some of the proposals in the democratic bill would be much more likely to worsen the long-run budgetout look than to improve it. so the second question is this: will the president veto a bill that adds to the nation's already staggering debt? the president has said that no middle-class americans would see their taxes raised a penny. yet, democrats on capitol hill are considering proposals such as a plan to limit tax deduction from medical costs that would not only raise taxes on middle-class families but that would hit these families the hardest. so the third question is: will the president veto any legislation that raises taxes on the middle class?

the president said he supports wellness and prevention programs that have proven to cut costs and improve care by encouraging people to make healthy choices like quitting smoking and fighting obesity. one such program is the so-called safeway plan, which is dramatically cut the company's costs and employee premiums. yet the bill democrats are pushing through the senate would actually ban -- actually ban -- the key provisions of the safeway program from being implemented by other companies. so the fourth question is this: does the president support the "help" committee bill which bans providing incentives for healthy behavior? and will he veto legislation that bans these kinds of programs? finally, the president has said that the government shouldn't dictate the kind of care americans receive. on this issue, the president has no stronger supporters than the republicans. but democrats on the "help"

committee rejected -- rejected -- a republican amendment that would have prohibited a democratic-proposed government board from rationing care or denying lifesaving treatments because they're too expensive. so the fifth question is this: does the president support the republican amendment to prohibit the rationing of care? and will he veto legislation that allows the government to deny, delay, and ration care? five questions: will the president use his veto pen to make sure americans aren't kicked off their current health plans? will he oppose any legislation that increases the nation's deficit? will he oppose any bill that raises taxes on middle-class families? will he reject any bill that excludes commonsense wellness and prevention programs that have been proven to cut costs and improve care? and will he disavow legislation that denies, delays and rations care? the american people want republicans and democrats to

work together to enact health care reform, but they want the right kind of reform, not a massive government takeover that forces them off of their current insurance and denies, delays, and rations care. americans are right to be concerned about what they're hearing from the democrats. it is my hope that the president addresses those concerns tonight once and for all. mr. president, i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

the presiding officer: the republican whip. mr. kyl: i ask further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. kyl: mr. president, the

nomination of harold koh concerns me for a number of reasons. primarily his view that international law should guide u.s. law. and his criticism of our first amendment right to freedom of speech, and his opposition to the solomon amendment which conditions federal funding to educational institutions on allowing military recruiting on campus. the state department legal advisor helps formulate and implement u.s. foreign policy, advises the justice department on cases with international implications, influences u.s. positions on issues considered by international bodies, and represents the u.s. at treaty negotiations and international conferences. in short, this position requires the utmost deference to the constitution of the united states. mr. koh is a proponent of transnationalism, the belief that americans should use foreign law a