state. in his capacity as a superior court judge, steve presided over civil and criminal cases. he's also supervised the circuit's felony drug court for six years. steve jones' list of honors and awards are truly too numerous to mention near this body, but he has been a mention of the state bar of georgia's distinguished -- he's been awarded the state pwafr georgia's distinguished -- bar of georgia's distinguished judicial service award, georgia justice builder award, university of georgia presidents fulfilling the dream award, the boy scouts of america -- the distinguished citizen award and the chief justice robert benne medical malpractice award -- and the julian bond award. steve is just a wonderful

person, great family man, great community citizen and just an outstanding jurist. he's going to make a truly outstanding district court judge on the northern district court in atlanta. with that, i would yield to my colleague, senator isakson. mr. isakson: i thank senator chambliss. mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from georgia. mr. isakson: i rise to speak on the two nominees. amy totenberg and steve jones. amy totenberg is an attorney of practice for many years, a judge, an arbitrator, mediator and educator. she brings a wealth of experience to the bench in many, many areas not the least of which is personnel law. in fact, during her term of service to the atlanta board of education in the mid-1990's, i was chairman of the state board of education and dealt with the major litigation pieces that went through the system of education in georgia. i know of her competence, her

ability and the trust that her colleagues have in her, and i think she'll be an excellent appointee. steve jones is the real deal. he is a terrific individual who is one of those people who is so active in trying to make the community better. just one example is clark county in athens where steve has been a superior court judge for many years is one of the leading drug cases in america -- drug courts in america. people get caught for the first time, work with them and is a mentor to see to it they never return to drugs and never return to crime. one of examples of the intensity of trying to make the community better. he's respected by his fellow judges. he's deeply respected by me as an individual, who brings great credit to our state and the bench. i urge all our colleagues tonight on the vote for steve jones and amy totenberg to unanimously support both of

these nominees to the district court of georgia bench. i yield back. mr. grassley: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: we're continuing in a cooperative effort to fill vacancies in the federal judiciary that have been designated as judicial emergencies. today the senate will confirm two more of president bush's judicial nominees. i am pleased that we're moving forward on a consensus basis and also consensus nominees who will lessen the burden on our overworked courts. my republican colleagues and i continue to demonstrate our ability and desire to work with the president and the democratic majority. we will have confirmed seven judicial nominees in just 17 short days the senate has been in session this congress. we have reported out of committee a total of 15 kwraourbl nominees -- judicial nominees or 29% of the total

nominees that have been submitted. we have already held two hearings in committee on eight judicial nominees with additional nominees scheduled for a hearing later this week. with this quick and productive pace, we have taken positive action on 55% of the judicial nominations sent to the committee this year. i continue to work with the chairman to ensure all nominees are afforded a fair but thorough process in a timely manner. i've appreciated the chairman's courtesy as we work together to set schedules and agendas. it is imperative that the administration work with us as well as to fill vacancies. i am particularly concerned about those seats designated as judicial emergencies. we continue to hear about the hype judicial vacancy -- about the high judicial vacancy rate. i think the record is clear that the senate is addressing the issue in a vigorous manner.

however, i continue to note that the president failed to submit a nomination for over half of the vacancies. for judicial emergencies, over 57% of those seats have no nominees sent to the senate yet. the two vacancies that we're filling today took some time for the nomination to be sent to the senate. both seats became vacant december 2008. that was at the end of the bush administration. it took president bush over a year to nominate for one seat and nearly a year and a half to nominate for the other seat. so those who are concerned about the high vacancy rate in the federal judiciary should pay attention to the nomination process and not just to the senate part of that process that we call senate confirmations. i will say a few words about the nominees who are scheduled to have votes today. i thank our leadership for the

reasonable arrangements reached to consider these nominations. first, amy totenberg is nominated to be a u.s. district court judge for the northern district of georgia. she received her a.b. magna cum laude and her j.d. from harvard university. upon graduation, she joined the law project as a partner where she focused on federal constitutional and employment law. she left the law project to become a solo practitioner where she maintained a general civil practice. ms. totenberg also served as municipal court judge for atlanta and was appointed by the atlanta board of education as the first in-house general counsel for the atlanta public school district. over the past decade while maintaining a solo practice,

ms. totenberg has spent the majority of her time as a special master, monitor and arbitrator/monitor for the u.s. district courts of maryland and washington, d.c. the american bar association standing committee on the federal judiciary unanimously rated her well qualified. the second nominee, steve c. jones, is also nominated to be a u.s. district judge for the northern district of georgia. judge jones received a b.b.a. and his j.d. degrees from the university of georgia. an experienced skwraoufrt, he -- jurist, he began his legal work as assistant legal attorney for the western district of georgia. in 1993 judge jones began service as a municipal court judge for the athens clark

county georgia he was appointed by governor miller in 1995 to serve as superior court judge for the western judicial circuit. he was subsequently reelected four times and is a presiding judge of the felony drug court. aside from his daily duties on the bench, judge jones was appointed by the georgia supreme court to serve on the judicial qualifications commission. he also functioned as chairman from the years of 2002 to 2006. on and off the bench, judge jones has contributed to his community. he has invested time to help georgia legal services as well as local antipoverty initiatives. partners for a prosperous athens /one athens antipoverty group. the american bar association

standing committee on the federal judiciary unanimously rated him well qualified as well. i support these two nominees and congratulate them on their achievements and their public service. i will continue to work with the chairman to move forward on consensus nominees as we have done with these two nominees. thank you, mr. president, and i would suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. leahy: mr. president, i ask consent that the call of the quorum be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. under the previous order the nomination of amy totenberg to be united states district judge for the northern district of georgia is confirmed. the question is on the nomination of steve c. jones to be united states district judge for the northern district of georgia. mr. leahy: mr. president, i

understand there has been a request for a -- a roll call on judge jones. although i would recommend if we have such, that it be unanimous, and i see the distinguished senator -- georgia senator isakson on the floor and i would ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: are there any members wishing to vote or change their vote? if not, the ayes are 90, the nays are 0. and the nomination is confirmed. mr. leahy: mr. president, i move to reconsider. the presiding officer: the motions to reconsider are laid on the table, the president will

be immediately notified of the senate's action, and the senate will resume legislative session. mr. leahy: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. leahy: mr. president, i understand the senator from colorado has an amendment which can be disposed of quickly that is agreeable to both sides and i would yield to the senator from colorado. a senator: thank you, mr. chairman. mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from colorado. mr. bennet: thank you, mr. president. i'd like to thank chairman leahy, ranking member grassley, senator hatch and all the members of the judiciary committee for all their hard work on patent reform. moving this bill forward has been a difficult task. i look forward to supporting a bill as we're in the process of amending and improving it. this legislation is critical for our economic growth if we're going to rebuild our economy and win the future, we need to make sure that our patent system promotes research and development. the presiding officer: the

senate will be in order. mr. bennet: thank you, mr. president. investment, job creation and global competitiveness. this evening i'd like to call up two amendments to this legislation that i believe address the need for efficiency and quality at the united states patent and trademark office. mr. president, at this time i'd like to call up the first amendment that is at the desk. the presiding officer: and without objection, the pending amendment is set aside. the cler clerk will report the amendment. the clerk: the senator from comely on, mr. bennet, proposes an amendment -- colorado, mr. bennet, proposes an amendment numbered 116. between lines 8 and 9, insert the following. mr. bennet: mr. president, i'd like to ask that the reading be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. bennet: my first amendment,

cosponsor by senator ayotte, hs reduce the track program by reducing fees participating in it. track one allows applicants to get their patents processed more quickly but the costs can be burdensome for small entities. the amendment would reduce small business costs by 50%. this track an amendment will give applicants for prioritization of a patent within 12 months of its filing day. on anches the pendency period for -- average, the pendency period for first action was 27.5 months in 2010 and 33.3 months for final disposition. by moving this process along for small businesses, we will stimulate business activity and create jobs. the 50% discount is in line with other small entity filing fee discounts offered by the patent and trademark office and will ensure start-ups and smaller inventors will be at a more level playing field in order to take advantage of track one. i'd encourage my colleagues to

support my small business amendment at the appropriate time. mr. president, i'd yield to the chairman. the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. leahy: mr. president, i appreciate the senator from colorado's amendment and i think when it comes to a vote, it will probably be unanimous. i suspect it will not even be a requirement for a roll call. but it does have the mandatory reduction in fees for small businesses for their exams at the patent office. and i know the senator's been a strong advocate for small businesses in colorado. the patent office currently has a backlog of more than 700,000 applications. haven't had a first response. this hits small businesses and independent inventors particularly hard because they can least afford the delay in receiving their rights.

and director koppel and the u.s. g.p.o. have done a lot to reduce that backlog. obviously they need this legislation to make it possible to finish it. one thing they do have is a fast-track process to allow applicants to pay an additional fee to cover the costs of having the examiners work overtime. not all small businesses can afford the fast-track application fee, and the senator from colorado, mr. bennet, has widelwisely recognized that notl can afford that and his amendment will ensure small businesses and inpent inventors receive a -- independent inventors receive a 50% reduction in fee and when the time comes that it comes for a vote, i will strongly support it and i suspect both sides on this bill will strongly support it. but i thank the senator from colorado. mr. bennet: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from colorado. mr. bennet: i thank the senator from vermont. for his leadership and for his kind words about the amendment. mr. president, at this time, i'd

like to ask for unanimous consent to set aside the pending amendment and call up my second amendment which is also currently at the desk. the presiding officer: without objection. the clerk will report the amendment. the clerk: the senator from colorado, mr. bennet, proposes an amendment numbered 117. on page -- mr. bennet: mr. president, i'd ask that the reading of the amendment be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. bennet: mr. president, my second amendment provides for the establishment of three regional satellite p.t.o. offices in the next three years. the patent and trademark office has struggled to hire and retain over 6,000 examiners in a single -- in its single location in alexandria, virginia. this has resulted with one-third of examiners being at the u.s. patent and trademark office for less than three years. ideally the patent and trademark examiners would recruit examiners from all over the country leveraging regional expertise. the patent and trademark office recently recognized this weakness in our patent

infrastructure by announcing an initial satellite pilot in detroit, michigan. my amendment seeks to support this effort and further connect innovators to the united states patent and trademark office. the establishment of satellite offices will help the u.s. p.t.o. recruit and retain workers from all across the country. regional offices will draw local scientists, engineers, and patent attorneys into the patent and trademark office which add real-world expertise to the patent review process. regional satellite offices will also increase outreach activities and connection to patent filers, enhance the ability of the u.s. p.t.o. to recruit and retain patent examiners and improve the quality and pendency for patent applications. europe currently uses four patent offices as a recruitment tool and is known for the ability to attract and retain highly qualified examiners. in short, plrngz the limitations of -- mr. president, the limitations of our lone patent office are placing our economy at a competitive disadvantage. it is essential, therefore, that we establish satellite offices

in locations that will connect innovators and businesses across the country. i would ask senators to support my amendment at the appropriate time. i want to again thank the chairman for his leadership and i look forward to working with him and the rest of this body to craft a good piece of legislation that helps america take the lead in the world's increasingly competitive economy. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. leahy: mr. president, i know the senator's advocated for satellite offices. his amendment, of course, speaks for geographic diversity. we could -- otherwise every one of us would be asking for one in our state, and vermont, which receives more patents per capita than any other state in the union, would be asking and so on. but what he does is not try to tilt the balance to any particular state but does call for a geographic diversity. and i think that's very wise. and when -- when the amendment comes to a vote, i will be there

to support it. so now, mr. president, parliamentary inquiry. what is pending? the presiding officer: the bennet amendment number 117. mr. leahy: and was that set aside so that he could introduce his second amendment? the presiding officer: that is the second, sir. mr. leahy: that is the second, so that is what is pending now? the presiding officer: that's correct. mr. leahy: i thank the chair. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from utah. mr. lee: i ask unanimous consent that the pending amendments be set aside and i call up amendment number 115 and ask for its immediate consideration. the presiding officer: is there objection? mr. leahy: mr. president, withholding the -- is it my understanding that -- the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. leahy: -- that once the senator has introduced that and spoken about it, he would be

willing to set that aside as other amendments directly to the patent bill come up; is that correct? mr. lee: yes, that's correct. mr. leahy: i accept the senator's word on that and i'll have no objection. the presiding officer: without objection, the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from utah, mr. lee, proposes amendment numbered 115. at the appropriate place, insert the following. section, sense of the senate. it is the sense of the senate of the congress should pass and the states should agree to an amendment to the constitution requiring a federal balanced budget. mr. lee: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from utah. mr. lee:s this a self-span -- this is a self-explanatory amendment. i want to state at the outset that i'm a supporter of this legislation, the patent reform bill. and i also want to point out that this amendment does not bring about any substantive change to that legislation nor does it lock anyone in to any particular variation of a balanced budget amendment proposal. i -- i am happy to work out an

agreement as to the timing for a possible vote on this and hope that we can get to a vote on that sometime soon. and i yield the floor. mr. crapo: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from idaho. mr. crapo: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent to speak as if in morning business for up to 15 minutes, the time to be shared between myself and senator risch. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. crapo: thank you very much, mr. president. mr. president, senator risch and i are here today, and in fact, i would note that we are joined by also our former colleague, senator larry craig, who is here with us as well, to honor one of idaho's greatest statesmen who passed away on saturday.

we rise to honor the distinguished life of senator james a. mcclure, a mentor and a dear friend of mine. and as i indicated, senator craig is here. senator craig is the one who followed senator mcclure in that seat in the united states senate, and we appreciate him making the effort to get here to also share his concerns and his condolences and, frankly, to help honor senator mcclure. i joined senator mcclure's wife louise and their family and friends and, frankly, all of idaho in mourning the passing of senator mcclure and in honoring his great legacy. his sound guidance, strong advocacy for idaho, and his personal encouragement will be missed by all of us, but definitely not forgotten. throughout his decades of public service, jim mcclure set a standard for public servants that will endure for generatio generations. senator mcclure dedicated much

of his life to honorable service to our nation. at the age of 18, he joined the united states navy and served honorably in world war ii. he then returned to idaho and attended law school at the university of idaho, worked as a prosecuting attorney for fayette county and served in the idaho state senate. with six years in the u.s. house of representatives and 18 years in the u.s. senate, his exemplary service in the united states congress passed and spanned 24 years. his unfailing goodwill, respect for others, and his essential western conservatism helped him to maintain throughout his life the kind of service that are still the best model for how to engage in today's public policy debates. he was recognized by all as a gentleman but a powerful advocate. senator mcclure's legacy as a congressman and senator is

broad, and in many issues such as energy and natural resource management his service to idaho is historic. jim utilized his service as chairman of the senate committee on energy and natural resources to advocate for idaho issues and their ideals. he also helped to guide the senate through his chairmanship of the senate republican conference from 1981 to 1985. jim worked diligently to achieve solutions to idaho and national challenges. he also had a forward-thinking focus on fiscal discipline, one that we could well use in the united states senate today. and on energy independence, another critical issue which we continue to battle for today. these are critical issues that he helped set the foundation for and, frankly, which his wisdom would have helped to solve. jim was a friend and a role model for me and i'm sure for many others in idaho and

throughout the nation. his dedication, kind treatment of others and skillful proactive and principled approach are long going to endure. he will be sorely missed but his lifetime of accomplishments will be with the people of idaho forever. i offer my sympathy and my love to louise and to the entire mcclure family and to jim's many friends and associates. with that, mr. chairman, i would yield the time to senator risch. mr. risch: mr. president, we came to the floor today to mourn the loss of a great statesman in idaho. jim mcclure was loved uniformly across the state of idaho and had dedicated really his entire life to public service, first as a prosecuting attorney in payette county, idaho, and then

the state senate, congress, the house of representatives and then the united states senate. from a little historical background, jim mcclure when he was elected to this body, the united states senate, he was elected to what's called the shoop seat. the shoop seat was first held by senator shoop, the laughter toerl governor of -- the laughter toerl governor of idaho and the first united states senator to hold that seat. jim mcclure was the ninth person to hold that seat. in the interim it was held by william bora. shoop and bora have statues in statuary hall in this building. prior to my election the seat was held by our distinguished colleague senator craig who has joined us on the floor and i'm sure joins in our remarks and

our expression of condolences to the mcclure family. jim mcclure was a family man, and he was truly dedicated to his wife louise and his children. back when jim served here, many of the members actually moved here as opposed to going home on the weekends, as most of us do today. the mcclure family spent a lot of time here, but they did spend their summers -- and that was when the united states senate was out most of the summer -- they did spend their summers in idaho and other times also in idaho. jim mcclure was very dedicateed to a couple of important issues. the first one being fiscal issues. jim mcclure would come back to idaho and warn about the spending habits that this united

states congress had. in fact, i think -- i've known jim mcclure since i was a young prosecutor back in the 1960's. i think jim mcclure was the first one i ever heard speak of directly about the danger that this congress was leading this congress into with its spending habits. had his advice been followed back then, had been followed back then, we would not be as a country in the difficulties we are today. secondly, jim's issue was energy. jim spent time as a chairman of the senate committee on energy and natural resources. indeed, we -- i sit on that committee today. senator craig sat on it before me, senator mcclure before him and senator jordan before jim mcclure. indeed, we can't recall that anyone serving from idaho that

we didn't have a person on that committee. indeed, it was the shoop seat that sat on that committee for as long as any of us can remember. as a testament to the larger-than-life persona that jim mcclure had, the following are named after jim mcclure in idaho: in 1995 the college of mines and earth resources at the university of idaho was dedicated as the james a. mcclure hall. in december of 2001, the federal building and united states courthouse in boise, idaho was renamed for jim mcclure. in 2007 the university of idaho renamed the bureau of public affairs research the james a. and louise mcclure center for public policy and research. well, all of this recaps in certainly an inadequate way the

many, many things that jim mcclure did for the people of idaho, indeed for the people of america and the people of the world as he led here in the united states senate. i want to close just briefly with what i knew about jim mcclure and i think what those of us here knew about jim mcclure and what he's remembered for here in the united states senate. in the media today we see a lot of rancor and we see a lot of arguing and a lot of hostility involved in the political process. if i can say one thing about jim mcclure is what he brought to the entire process was civility. no matter how tough it got, no matter how disagreements escalated, jim mcclure always kept it level. he always kept it at a very

civil tone, and jim mcclure approached everything with a gentle sense of humor which many, many times defused things which could have gotten out of hand. his family, again we express our condolences, our deep condolences and the people of the state of idaho mourn today. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from idaho. mr. crapo: mr. president, senator risch's comments prompted me to think of a time when i was first elected to the united states house of representatives. senator mcclure had long been counseling and working with me and helping me to see the kind of civility that senator risch talked about, and also that strong, powerful leadership that he brought to issues. when i was first elected to the house of representatives, i just began thinking, as senator risch was talking about jim mcclure and louise invited me to go to

dinner. jim and louise sat with me for an evening right here in washington, d.c. at a local restaurant, and we just talked about politics, about idaho, about america, about the world and about how one should lead on issues as they dealt with them in congress. and i have to tell you it would take too long to repeat all the lessons that i learned that night that were taught to me by senator mcclure as he made that extra step to reach out. i said in my initial remarks that he was a mentor and a role model for me, and i truly mean that. i just had to add those comments as i thought about that while senator risch was talking. mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate now proceed to the consideration of senate resolution number 78 relative to the death of senator james a. mcclure. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. res. 78 relative

to the death of james albertus mcclure, former united states senator for the state of idaho. mr. crapo: thank you, mr. president. i would note this resolution was submitted earlier today by senator risch and myself. in fact, our leadership helped in preparing it and bringing it forward. and all 100 senators are cosponsors of this resolution. i think a fitting tribute to the respect and honor in which senator james a. mcclure is held by this united states senate. before i ask unanimous consent to take action on the resolution, i would ask if senator risch had anything further that he would like to add. mr. risch: thank you, senator crapo. i think we have gone through the various things that jim mcclure was known for. it is a true loss to idaho and a true loss to the nation. he was held in such high regard by all idahoans, and i'm proud

to be a person holding his seat. he was a cofounder and a charter member of the steering committee here on the republican side. and the steering committee was a group that was brought together to talk about and develop policies from a conservative standpoint for the nation. it certainly was something that has been very helpful to the republican conference over the many years. senator mcclure will be remembered for that, and we certainly thank him for that. i yield the floor to senator crapo. mr. crapo: thank you, senator risch. the presiding officer: the senator from idaho. mr. crapo: before i ask unanimous consent, mr. president, i know that louise and a number of senator mcclure's family and friends are watching. this is a short but meaningful

resolution. i believe i should read it in its entirety. relative to the death of james albertus mcclure, former united states senator for the state of idaho, whereas james a. mcclure served in the united states navy during world war ii and whereas james a. mcclure served in the state of idaho as a prosecuting attorney, a city attorney, a member of the idaho state senate and as a member of the united states house of representatives, whereas james a. mcclure served the people of the state of idaho with distinction for 18 years in the united states senate, whereas james a. mcclure served the senate as chairman of the committee on energy and natural resources in the 97th through the 99th congresses and chairman of the senate republican conference in the 97th and 98th congresses, whereas james a. mcclure served his caucus as a founder member and chairman of the senate

steering committee in the 94th through the 96th and the 99th through the 100th congresses, now therefore be it resolved that the united states has heard with profound sorrow that the senate has heard with profound sorrow and deep regret the announcement of the death of the honorable james albertus mcclure, former member of the united states senate. resolved that the secretary of the senate communicate these resolutions to the house of representatives and transmit an enrolled copy thereof to the family of the deceased and resolved that when the senate adjourns today it shall stand adjourned as a further mark of respect to the memory of the honorable james albertus mcclure. mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, that the preamble be agreed to, and that the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered.

mr. crapo: thank you, mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from rhode island. mr. whitehouse: may i ao ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak for up to ten minutes each? the presiding officer: without objection. mr. whitehouse: i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: quorum call:

quorum call:

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the call of the quorum be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i now move to proceed to calendar number 11, h.r. 359. the presiding officer: the clerk will report.

the clerk: motion to proceed to calendar number 11, h.r. 359, an act to reduce federal spending and the deficit by terminating taxpayer funding of presidential elections, campaigns, and party conventions. mr. reid: i have a cloture motion at the desk, mr. president. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the cloture motion. the clerk: cloture motion. we the undersigned senators in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate hereby move to bring to a close the debate on the motion to proceed to calendar number 11, h.r. 359, an act to reduce federal spending and the deficit by terminating taxpayer financing of presidential election campaigns and party conventions, signed by 17 senators as follows -- mr. reid: mr. president, i ask consent that the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i also ask unanimous

consent the mandatory quorum under rule 22 be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i now withdraw my motion to proceed. the presiding officer: the motion is withdrawn. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to s. con. res. 8. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. con. res. 8, concurrent resolution recognizing women serving in the united states armed forces. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent that the concurrent resolution be agreed to, the motion be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid on the table. there be no intervening action or debate and any statements relating to this matter be placed in the record as if read. mr. president, before you rule on this, they had last week a very, very good series on national public radio about women in the military. it was really wonderful. it was so full of information. talked about a woman that had

served in the military in world war ii, had her daughter -- served in world war ii, had a general woman, the first four-star general to be a woman. it had a woman who had been in the military in the 1980's and her daughter who was a graduate of west point now, going to medical school as a result of her military service. it was really terrific. and, of course, the issue that the pentagon is working through is quite difficult is combat for women. they had one woman there on this program who was awarded the silver star for her gallant action, her heroic actions as part of a caravan that was attacked and she was the hero of the battle. the shooting went on for 45 minutes. so anyway, i'm very happy to -- to be reading this into the record. it's -- i would ask the chair to

rule that this is without objection because it certainly is the right thing to do to recognize women serving in the united states armed services. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. reid: there is a bill at the desk, and i ask for its first reading. the presiding officer: the clerk will read the title of the bill for the first time. the clerk: h.r. 1, an act making appropriations for the department of defense and other departments and agencies of the government for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2011, and for other purposes. mr. reid: mr. president, i now ask for a second reading in order to place the bill under the calendar, and i object to my own request. the presiding officer: objection having been heard. the bill will receive a second reading on the next legislative day. mr. reid: i now ask unanimous consent the rules committee be discharged from further consideration of s. res. 7. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered.

mr. reid: mr. president, i ask this resolution be placed on the calendar. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today it adjourn until tomorrow morning, march 1, at 10:00 a.m. following the prayer and pledge, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day. following any leader remarks, there will be a period of morning business for up to one hour, with senators being permitted to speak for up to ten minutes each during that time, with the time equally guided between the two leaderreds or their designees with the republicans controlling the first harvetion the democrats controlling the second half. the senate recess from 12:30 to 2:15 p.m. the senate will resume consideration of the patent reform act of 2011. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: mr. president, senators should expect roll call votes to occur throughout the day in relation to amendments to the patent reform bill. it is a very important piece of

legislation. we've been waiting for years to get this on the floor. senators have amendments, they should move them quorum callly, because we hope to finish this bill very quickly. if there's no further business to come before the senate, schai it adjourning under the previous order, under the provision of s. res. 78, as a further mark of respect for the late-senator james mcclure. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the senate standsdjourned until 10:00 a.m. tomorrow. and pursuant to senate resolution 78, does so as a mark of further respect to the of further respect to the

i'm excited about what happens in society. >> and whitehouse clay shirky studies the effect of the internet on society and where the future may take us. >> it is not the moment when the shiny tool shows up in the hands of a 15-year-old but it changes the world. it is when, it is when your mom takes it for granted that she can make a video and uploaded to youtube. >> the future of the internet tonight on "the communicators" on c-span2.

>> there's a new way to get a concise review of today's event. is washington today on c-span radio. every weekday we will take you to capitol hill, the white house and anywhere news is happening. we will also talk with the experts, the politicians and the journalist as we put the days events into perspective. the stories that matter to you the most, every weekday at 5:00 to 7:00 eastern time on c-span radio. you can wish in -- listen at 90.1 fm and nationwide on xm satellite radio channel channel channel channel 132. on line to c-span.org. it is also available as an iphone app and you can download the program every evening as a c-span podcast. m.i.t. american history professor pauline maier is on booktv's and depth this sunday. she has written several books on the american revolution including from resistance to revolution, the old revolutionaries, american scripture and her latest,

ratification published last year. join our three hour conversation with pauline maier, taking your phonecalls, e-mails and tweet sunday at noon eastern on c-span2. watch previous in-depth programs that booktv.org where you can also find the entire weekend schedule. [applause] >> up next first lady michelle obama and dr. joe biden discussed military families and the way that states can assist them. they spoke at the white house earlier today for many of the nations governors gathered in washington for the national governors association. this is 20 minutes. [applause] >> good morning, and thanks to all of you for inviting us here today. it was a great time last night, wasn't it? we had a great time. [applause] michelle and i will be joining your spouse is shortly for

lunch. but we wanted to speak to you today about something that is very important to all of us, military families. over the past two years, we have had the privilege of traveling around the country and around the world, visiting with servicemembers and their families and hearing their stories first-hand. many of the stories are about the price these families have in serving our country, but there are also challenges. we bring the concerns back to the white house and the president and the vice president and the cabinet have responded by committing attention and resources to support our military families. we know that each of you shares our commitment by supporting our troops and their families. many of you have -- in your state and all of you have guard and reserve families. we know well the tremendous service they provide to our

country. today, michelle and i want to talk to you about our efforts to increase awareness of the uniqueness -- unique experiences of military families. we want to take the opportunity and thank you for your ongoing support and ask for your feedback about the needs and concerns of military families in your states. many of you know that my son was deployed to iraq as a member of the delaware army national guard he is back now, but i will always remember the mixture of pride and concern that i felt throughout his deployment. i know i don't have to tell any of you just how critical the national guard is to our national security. tens of thousands of our brave citizens, soldiers are serving in iraq, afghanistan and other regions, and taken together, they make up nearly -1/2 of our nations military strength.

they also respond to national disasters, humanitarian crises from 9/11 to hurricane katrina, to areas in need around the world. they answer the call under your leadership. as a military mom, i know what a difference it makes when individuals or groups reach out to show support to servicemembers and their families. i have seen through my work with small grassroots organizations at home called delaware boots on the ground, that community groups can make a huge difference. where a military family in delaware has a need, we try to mediate. whether it is physical labor or repairs around the house, a fun night out for the kids, or other simple ways individuals, businesses and groups can support a family through a deployment. there are small and effective groups like this all over the

country, like one in minnesota that collects top rand hockey equipment for military children or the barbecue lovers in ohio bats traveled the state, providing meals for military family picnics, deployment and welcome home ceremonies, or the accountants across the country that dedicate their talents every spring to help with tax returns. as an educator, i love hearing about the way schools and teachers support military children during the deployment of a parent. just a few weeks ago, an amazing teacher near fort stewart in georgia told me how she sets up parent teacher conferences over the internet so she can update deployed parents on their children's progress in the classroom. many of the military children in that school keep laminated pictures of their deployed

parent on their desk. there are so many great and inspiring stories which demonstrate that every american can take their time, their expertise and their passion and use it to support and thank a military family. michelle and i have talked a lot about the ways that all americans can support our troops and thank these men and women for their service. and now, we are trying to encourage all americans to join us in this effort. as long as we have the privilege and the honor of serving in our roles, the first lady and i will do whatever we can to support those who protect us, and we look forward to working with you and your spouses on these ongoing efforts. and now, it is my pleasure to introduce my partner, my friend,

your first lady, michelle obama. [applause] >> thank you. thank so much, jill and again welcome. i hope you all had a lovely evening last night. got your groove on. [laughter] but we had a great time so i hope you are getting a lot of work done today. i know that you have a busy day ahead and jill and i are grateful to have a chance to talk to you today about our latest endeavor. but we wanted to take a few minutes to talk with you about an issue that is important to both of us, as jill said and that is mobilizing our country to support our military families. as you know, all our men and women in uniform represent only 1% of the population, 1% of our

country taking care of the needs of all of us. and they shoulder the entire responsibility of defending our country. they are enduring to her after tour of duty and they are missing birthdays and holidays and all those daily moments with the people they love the most. and these men and women aren't the only ones to sacrifice for our country. i said this when i'm appeared on oprah, that it is very easy for us to recognize the men and women in uniform because they are in uniform, but there are people who we don't see who aren't in uniform. and the truth is, those are the people who take care of them and their families. their families served too. and over the last two years, jill and i have spent a lot of time meeting with spouses who play the role of both parents for months on and.

if you think about the challenges your family stays, as you serve, which is how i came to this issue, thinking about the challenges i face and then looking at a military spouse who is shouldering the exact same burden, juggling play dates and carpools and doing their best to hide their own fears while answering questions from their kids about when mom or dad is coming home, and during the grief and heartbreak if they don't return. so the thing i had to think about is if i am feeling sorry for myself, in my role with all that i'm juggling, just imagine if i were in their position, with the pressures and the challenges and the uncertainty. but they do it proudly, and that is the thing that we have learned. that has been one of the benefits of traveling around the country. these families do not want our

pity. they do not want our sympathy. they serve like serve as mentors with pride and they do it without complaint and they do it without regret. and every day, these men and women and these children and these parents and these aunts and uncles, they show us what words like service and strength and sacrifice -- they show us what those words really look like. so i think we can all agree, all of us, regardless of what our political positions may be, we can all agree that with everything these families due to take care of this country and all of us, america, we have an obligation to take care of them. and that is why last year my husband ordered a sweeping review of the entire federal government, to see what the government is doing or these families and what the government could be doing better for these

families. and we have gathered nearly 50 recommendations from cabinet agencies for how we can improve services for our military families. that includes everything from simplifying financial aid applications for these families to increasing career opportunities for the spouses, to expanding childcare options for the children of servicemembers. and all of this is a very good start. these are all very important steps, because our view is that we have to look internally before we can look outside. but we know that the needs of our military families won't be met simply by improving the way things work here in washington. so much of what these folks need are things that government can provide. they need employers who are willing to hire them, even if they are moving all across the country. they need employers who

understand the unique challenges that military spouses face. they need schools that recognize the unique needs of children who are facing multiple deployments. they need to know those kids are in their classrooms. they need communities that show gratitude for the sacrifices they are making, not just with words, but with deeds. and not just once in a while, not just on veterans day or memorial day, but these communities need to rally around these families every single day. and that is why next month, jill and i are going to be launching a campaign to rally this country around to support not just our troops, but their families and we are focusing on four main areas, employment, education, wellness and public awareness. just to give you a sense of what we hope to do -- i mean if you

look at what we have accomplished in just one short year, our goal is to take that same model and make the conversation about our military families at the top of mind of every single one of us in this country. we are going to be working with businesses and nonprofit organizations to improve career opportunities for veterans and military spouses. there are a lot of wonderful models, companies that are already doing great things. we want to raise up those models and encourage other businesses to find a way to do the same. we are working with education groups to make schools more accommodating for military kids, and we are going to be encouraging all americans to simply step up as individuals, which the folks in this country are more than willing to do. we care about our troops. oftentimes we just don't know what to do.

and our hope is that through this public awareness campaign, we can funnel that energy, we can galvanize it and we can direct it in a way that is going to be most helpful for our military families. and that might mean something as simple as mowing the lawn for a family member in your community or shoveling the snow. when you talk to military families, these are the small things that make them feel appreciated without making them feel helpless. or offering military family discounts at local businesses, offering professional services, whether someone is a lawyer or an accountant or a mechanic. whatever people do, that is what we are asking americans -- find the thing that you do best and find a way that -- to make that service something of importance and value to our military families. however folks choose to help, the idea here is very simple.

it is about doing everything we can to keep military families in our hearts and on our minds. and this isn't just about doing it in a time of war, because once the war is over, and hopefully that will happen, the battles of military families and our troops continue. the residual effects of deployments go on and on or a lifetime. so this isn't just a campaign for today. this is a campaign for every day, all day. this is going to outlive me and jill and joe and barack. this is something that should be a part of what we do here in america and jill, as she said, this is especially important when we talk about our national guard servicemen and women who you all have special responsibility for writing your own states, so you know their needs, you know their contributions.

national guard families, they face the same struggles as any other military family. the differences is that these families don't often live on bases or in communities with those built-in resources and support networks. they are our neighbors. we don't even see them. we don't even know the challenges they face and oftentimes they are living in communities where no one can relate to their experiences at all. so it takes a special effort to reach out to these individuals and their families. and that is why we want to work with all of you, the governors of our states and with people and organizations within your state's, to help us find ways to better support military familieg awareness and making these families an important part of all of our common agenda. so, we are here because we want to hear from you. if you have outstanding ideas -- shoot, if you have good ideas --

or if there are groups in your states that you know are making a difference, we are asking you to tell us about these. part of what jill and i are going to continue to do is to travel the country and to use our platform, our ability to attract a little attention and to shine a light on your states and the things that you do in an effort to divide these an example for the rest of the country for what they can do. so we want to hear those ideas. we want to hear from your staff. we want to put this information on serve.gov and find ways to better connect people looking for volunteer opportunities, looking for good ideas, finding a way for them to connect with you in your states. because in the end, this is something that i think we can all agree on. no matter where we come from, no matter what we might think about any other issue.

we all know that this issue -- this is not a democratic issue. this is not a republican issue. this is an american issue. and more importantly, this is an american obligation. it truly is. it's about showing our gratitude to that very small group of americans who make such a tremendous contribution and sacrifice to this country. and it is about serving the people who sacrifice so much to serve us. one thing my husband says is that when he talks to troops and he goes out to wherever they are stationed, that they don't talk about themselves. never do they ask for anything for themselves. they are our soldiers. >> they are focused but they always worry about what is going on back at home. that is what keeps them not

being able to focus on their mission, not knowing that their wife, their children are being cared for when they come back that they will be secure. those are the issues that are -- our soldiers struggle with when they are out on the battlefield. so i know that this is something we can do together. and jill and i, we didn't come to this issue knowing that we were both passionate about this. we were blessed to be put together and be able to join forces behind this one issue. and we want the entire nation to feel like this is an obligation that we all can work on together. so we are going to need your help. we are going to need your support and encouragement, you know, to make this a reality. we are very excited about this initiative because we think that this will not only help our troops and their families but it will help us as a nation linked

together and be even stronger. so we are excited. we are going to year up. we are going to be working hard. we are going to go on the road and make this fun and exciting. we are going to pull in businesses and entertainment and sports, and we are going to pull in all sectors to get behind this effort. and i know that people are more than ready to step up. so if there is any way that you can be helpful to us, if there are any suggestions that you can have for how we structure and talk about this issue so that it continues to be a bipartisan issue, we will gladly take those recommendations. but i am looking for your leadership to make this happen, to make this a true success. and if we do this, we will have some grateful families behind us. they have just been grateful to hear that this is a part of the national conversation. they don't even want much.

so i think, because of that, we can succeed. so i want to thank you all for giving jill and i your time. i know your time is limited. things are tough in your states back home. but i think even in this economy, there are so many things we can do to keep this agenda in the forefront of all of our minds. so thank you all in advance and i look forward to visiting your states. so you all take care and good luck. [applause]

next to discussion on the role and importance of children's hospitals and health care system in this morning's "washington journal." this is 35 minutes. >> host: john locke is a ceo of thend children's miracle network hospitals and is here to talk to us about the role of children's hospitals particularly as educational and teaching facilities and the funding or lack thereof that is going to be coming to those hospitals in the upcoming budget. welcome to the probe and. >> guest: thank you. >> host:pc in particular your interest is in the children's hospitalwelc graduate medical education program. tell us what that is and why it is so vital and why is it so vite treatment of children's hospitals? guest: the graduate medical

education program was put into effect in 1999 and was geared at training our pediatric specialists and journalists here in the usa that time there was roughly about a 19% decline in these pediatric specialties. in these children's hospitals, which represents about 1% of total hospitals in america, these medical students are trained under this funding to become some of our pediatric specialists today. since the year 2000, there has been about a 35% increase because of the program in the specialties. even today we have a shortfall. we still do not have enough pediatric specialists and all of the pediatric generalist's that we need, and that is a concern for us because we are in the business of making sure that our kids have great health care. host: would you say to people

that say, if it only affects 1% of all of the hospitals, will there be other places where doctors who are training in pediatric specialties and children who need those specialists, there will be other places they can go? guest: not really, because these 60 children's hospitals train about half of all of our pediatric specialists. they are some of the key training hospitals of their training our pediatric specialists today. host: is there any funding for the children's hospital graduate medical education in the current continuing resolution that is being discussed in the 2012 budget that the president set up last week? guest: no, not specifically for his graduate education program. of course, having this shortfall will create a problem for our hospitals, will -- to do some of

the training that they do today will have to shift from equipment and uninsured care and child care programs that we are committed to funding. these are the things that make a difference for children's health care in america. host: according to the office of management and budget in the president's fiscal year 2012 budget for children's hospital, it eliminates funding for the hospital's graduate medical education programs and programs that were reauthorize in 2006 for five years. that has been cut down to $330 million. how much of a cut is that? where did it start? guest: it started originally a little under that, but today's requirements -- i mean, this program trades above 5600 of these specialists per year. -- trains about 5600 of these

specialists per year. and as this incentive goes down, it is a disincentive for medical students looking for a specialty because the funding will not be there to go into pediatrics, but potentially some other form of health care specialty, whether it is a cardiologists or whatever. that means our kids will get less care. host: we are talking about childrens' hospitals and federal funding for the training of pediatric specialists with john lauck, president and ceo of the children's miracle network hospitals. if you like to get involved in the conversation, give us a call. the numbers are on the screen. also, we will be taking messages on twitter and e-mails as well. in the washington post this morning, they talk about the

governor's association, which is in town this weekend. the headline is, the governor seeks to adapt medicaid. have your word any -- heard any changes in funding that will not be coming in through the previous funding that came in through the hospital graduate medical education program? hosguest: medicaid really does t cover any of this graduate training. that is what is the key to us. it concerns us, the fact that some of the key programs that the hospitals are trying to fund this year and through the next couple of years, particularly with increasing needs. one thing people may not be aware of is the increase in the number of underweight babies that are born. if you talk to the neonatal

care physicians they do not understand exactly why, but we have a dramatic increase in the number of premature babies that are born. 10 years ago, 90% of these children died. today, most of them are being saved because of an investment in this education act that has helped train these physicians. we have more neonatal specialists. we have also been able to raise a lot of funds that have been successful in paying for the equipment and programs that help make the difference between life or death for some of these babies. host: tell me more about the equipment and the training that you are talking about. that they get at these facilities at that they would not get at other facilities. guest: for example, at a nicu and, or in the don't -- neonatal intensive care unit,

they get a bed that cost thousands of dollars that enables them to be put on heart and lung support while they're waiting for surgery. one thing we pride ourselves on at the juror -- children's miracle network hospitals is to raise the funds to pay for this type of equipment. we work through sponsors, like ihop tomorrow. you can help raise money if you read their tomorrow. -- eat there tomorrow. but there is a shift in training about how to train doctors. do you pay for the doctors or the equipment. it is kind of a chicken or egg situation and our answer is that you need to do both. host: we are discussing the world of children's hospitals

and their importance in the health care system. massachusetts, on the line for democrats, maureen. caller: are we on the air? host: yes, we are. please turn down your television so you will not get the feedback, all right? caller: yeah. i am kind of concerned about health care because i was watching a program give a day where they are talking about rationing to older people and people that are near my age, 59 to 60. i felt that the obama health care is working for some people in massachusetts, but not everybody. thank you. guest: i hear you concerned,

obviously, with how these can -- these cuts would affect health care for older americans. i think what is important is that what we're talking about today is that the cuts that are being proposed for the chgme are not coming out of -- the desire to cut this program will not come out of money that will then be appropriated to adult health care. it is strictly to balance the budget. it does not affect the dole health care, but really, the health care for our children. -- it does not affect adults but really, the, health care for children. and we have got to take care of them. host: next call from kentucky on the line for republicans. caller: are the privately-owned children's hospitals? guest: if the question is whether it will affect privately

owned hospitals, certainly, in the fact that privately-owned children's hospitals also benefit from these doctors who are also coming out from medical training who will receive, or not receive, funding for their special training. it is about three to eight years after medical school that a specialist need to complete a residency program and for their education to become a specialist. pediatric cardiologists, endocrinologist, neonatal care. attritions -- neonatal care pediatricians will be affected. but only in private hospitals, but public hospitals as well. host: section 5503 of the affordable care act provides for reductions in the direction gme and the indirect caps for certain hospitals.

these cuts have already started taking place. are their doctors that are in residency programs now that are starting to look for places that may be getting what money is left over to try to move around and continue their residencies? guest: correct, or they're looking at another specialty. and if they cannot get the training they need to become a pediatric specialists, they may need to become an adult health care specialist. host: how many doctors with these kinds of specialties do

you figure you will you -- you will lose over the next couple of years if the this program is not funded? guest: it is difficult to quantify the number, but how much can be made up from the valuable funding that is out there? it is going to have to come if we're going to continue to train doctors. it is going to have to come from covering the uninsured. last year, we provided a little over $230 million in funding for 170 of our local children's hospitals. all of that money stayed local. it went to those hospitals and a lot of that when to pay for uninsured care. as this shift over to may be having to pay for some training, it means unless funds available for covering the uninsured. host: minnesota, you are on the

line. caller: thank you, for c-span. i am in -- i am from puerto rico. my question is, how is puerto rico fairing in this graduate training? we have one of the demographic numbers in the country and i wonder if these things are taken into consideration. guest: i think the question is, are we taking into consideration the ethnic opportunities? and in this specific case, board of regents -- puerto ricans for raising funds. as we see an increase in the hispanic population, that is one

of our target areas, raising funds for the benefit of the hispanic community. we actually have a hispanic radio fund. we have about 300 radio phones per year that can raise a considerable amount of money. they can raise anywhere from $100,000 of two $1 million. we actually have radio funds in these hispanic communities to benefit those hospitals the serve those populations. a very important demographic for us and part of our future here in america. host: from a daily news on-line publication for health care executives, they write that eliminating the program would narrow the pediatric workforce pipeline at a time when children's timely access to care is already impaired. according to the national association of children's

hospitals, the chgme program helps train 1600 residents per year. how does the obama administration justifies cutting out funding for a program that seems so important, especially for young children? >guest: obviously, the pressure to balance the budget. we are not a political organization, so it is tough to say where you cut the budget. but anything that impact the well-being of our children, this is a life-and-death matter. i would suggest that we are to start first with our future, which are our children, and that which benefits them. we have to make sure that the health care for them is absolutely the best we can give them. one of the concerns with this bill today, even with the chgma

in effect, we are able to train these roughly, 1600 physicians per year. if you're a parent with a child in some of these specialities, it can take up to three months before you can get the care you need. even today there is still a deficit. there is a deficit in terms of the number of doctors and in terms of the health care we would like to give the children. that is why we are so involved in raising these funds to give our children the best care possible. host: next up in california, cynthia on the line for democrats. caller: i am so glad to be on the call today and i am so glad to hear what is being done for the children in the country. but i was more impressed with a statement that you made, sir, about the fact that the children are the future in this country.

what i want to ask you, how do you feel about the fact that the new congress just voted to cut wic, the women, infants and children program in this country, and how important is that for the survivability for low-income parents, whose mothers i know personally and whose children benefit from the program? guest: thank you for your question. again, we do not comment on any programs that are not involved other than our child health care. while that is an important issue and something for congress to address, to the degree that it has any impact on health care is where we get involved.

it is important that we look at, first, the life and death issues with the children and their families. something important obviously for congress to consider and obviously a very difficult issue that they are wrestling with as they try to balance the budget. host: besides the pancakes at ihop, tell us some of the other things that the children's miracle network hospitals are involved in to raise money or make people aware of of this situation and get more money into the pipeline so that we can contribute -- continue training sapediatric specialist. guest: we are working with corporate sponsors, and our corporations have a community obligation. they have -- they need to give back to the community. i hop will have a pancake day

tomorrow, but we also work with target, marriot and other organizations. you have probably seen this paper: before. we just updated our logo, but you can go into a wal-mart or cosco or any of our 90 different partners and donate $1 and the time. we raised over $111 million last year, most of its $1 at a time with the paper balloons. it does not require much of the customers and it gives our corporate partners a tremendous opportunity to give back to the community. all of these funds as a locally and go 100% to the hospital where they are collected. host: next up, the texas.

caller: my daughter is a pediatrician here in texas and one of the concerns that she has is the increasing service required of her on children that are born from illegal aliens. in her view, when she has to provide this service should does not get reimbursed for it and she sees it as an increasing area with in her field and there is concern about what will happen in the future when pediatrician's begin to basically back out of the profession. i will take your answer on the air. thank you. guest: this is one of the areas that we are concerned in. i will not comment on the politics of it, but i will comment on the great need of america's hospitals to cover uninsured health care. a big portion of the funds that we raised go to pay for an insured health care. 170 local hospitals, will the

one thing they like about what we do is that the funds are under strict -- unrestricted. they can use these dollars for whenever they see fit. if the greatest need is uninsured health care, they can put it there. if the grid is needed equipment, they can put it there. if it is training, they can put it to training. a good portion of what we raise goes to covering the peace. host: i know you say you are not a political organization, but we find ourselves now in the budget season where various committee -- various cabinet secretaries, including secretary sebelius of dhhs, coming to the hill. is there any lobbying or pressure that an organization like yours is putting on.com was

or on senators to put this back in the budget -- on congress or on senators to put this back in the budget? guest: we are not a lobbying group, so we do not do that. but there is the national association of children's hospitals that is a lobby group and is providing perspective on the hill and the impact that some of these cuts would have on our children's hospitals. children's hospitals are fairly new. it has only been in the last several decades. for many years we treated them as little adults. the fascinating thing that you learn when you tore our children's hospitals -- when you to work our children's hospitals it is a radically different health care. host: nyc, new york, on our line , go ahead.dencts

turn down your television, ok? caller: thank you for having me on. my cousin is a pediatrician in india and she is now and in -- an anesthesiologist. i cannot believe how funding could get cut in a country where health care should be free for everyone. you go to places like europe or canada and you have health care for free. my cousin serves millions and millions of people. i am pretty puzzled why the budget would be cut at all. guest: it is obvious the

puzzling since it impacts our future and our children. one of the things i find is almost anybody i come in contact with within the inner circle, either their own children or their relatives or their friends, there is a child that is impacted by the need for a children's hospital. until we have free health care in america, it is important that we fulfill the deficit that is out there, and the need. in america we have a rich tradition of giving, which i am very proud to be a part of. i'm very proud to be a part of an organization that capitalizes on the opportunities to support the local children's hospitals. in a perfect world of kupka -- of health care, if such a world exists, we have an opportunity to give to everybody. i would urge everyone who is listening to me to consider giving to your local children's hospital. help train your local doctors

and specialists that are needed to treat our children. is the children's hospital graduate medical and -- host: is the children's hospital grudge toward medical education program unique to the united states, or will we lose this program to similar types of programs overseas? guest: i'm not sure if it is unique to the u.s., but there's no question that we will lose some of these specialists, wherever they go. there are medical students going into other specialties. we certainly could lose these specialties to overseas hospitals that would provide the training or the grants or the funding and scholarships to be able to do that. beach, fla., thomas on the democrats line. host: i have a comment -- caller: i have a comment to you, the host.

i live in florida. there are a lot of people from canada to come down here. everytime i get a chance i talk to them. i have them, how does your health care work? does it work good for you? and they all say it works great. i have asked about 20 people and they have all pretty much given me the same answer. my suggestion to you is, why don't you randomly pick out some people from canada and have them on your show and have them tell the american people the real truth? as long as we have a health care system that is for profit, we are not going to have a real health care system for the people. host: we will take that under consideration, but before i let you go, let me ask you this. when you are talking to those people from canada, you get into discussions about health care for children? caller: yeah, in fact, i stopped

to get gas last week. that is how i knew the guy was from canada because of his tag on his car. we were talking and he had about 45 kids in the car with him and i asked -- four or five kids in the car with him and i asked him, does it work could for everyone? and he said, yes. he said, you are going to be taking care of. guest: i have a comment. and thank you for the question. i just returned a few weeks ago from canada. i visited several of our network hospitals up there. even with the canadian health care system, where it would appear that much, if not all of that is covered, we still raise funds for them because there is still a need. even with canadian health care, there is still a need to provide programs that the hospitals do not receive any funding for from

the government. on a per hospital basis, we raise about the same amount, or perhaps a little bit more than we do here in the u.s. for those hospitals to conduct the health care they need. even though you may argue that they have a more robust system, there is still a need for charity. host: our next call comes from the bronx, new york, on the line for republicans. caller: i'm wondering what the effects of rising prices due to obama care is going to have on children's hospitals. guest: i'm not sure what effect it will have on rising prices, but there has been pressure for many years on the rising prices in a children's hospital. and that is why the need for giving is greater than ever, and it will continue to be that way. we have a growing population of

acute patients, as i said before, and the growing need for more specialists. the good news is that in a -- in an increasing number of but wels, it is theire, need more funds to support them. host: california, you are on the line with the "washington journal." caller: i applaud the guest. he is doing what he should be doing, protecting his piece of the pie, and he is working for the children of america. i think he provide his own answer. is the way to pay for these programs, the money he is giving to the uninsured, he could use it for training. i thought that was what the new

program with obama care did was to cover of all children. would that not give you the money for training? guest: it does not provide all the training that is necessary, nor does it cover all of the health care gaps. even today with the chgme program, which provides a little over $300 million in funding, and with the charitable grant that we get, a little over $240 million to several of these hospitals, and with these programs locally, the hospitals themselves, they're still a deficit. -- there is still a deficit. trying to put the burden on the back of anyone saying -- of any one thing is not realistic. host: john lauck is the president and ceo of the children's miracle network

hospitals. he has also been the president and chief marketing officer for arby's. and he has held senior marketing roles at pepsi co, a pizza hut and foot locker. next call from massachusetts. caller: when the republicans say they want less government is because they want to take away all of the regulations and make sure that nobody is stealing from the government. daud choosing that every time they are asking for fewer regulations -- and don't you think that every time they are asking for fewer regulations they are stealing from the pocket of the taxpayer? when you look at other countries, the top 3% have control of most of the money and the bottom half is sitting here wondering what is going to happen to them. there is a problem here in this country where these bankers can make $100 million per year by

ripping people off and then they call these products good products that are supposed to create wealth. only for the top 3%. i think there is a problem here. if there are not any regulations, you will not know who the cook is. guest: interesting thought and challenge, but i think what it comes back down to, again, is -- where we are putting our energy is dealing with the side of the problem that all of us can participate in, that we can do something about. sometimes the politics of health care are frustrating. it may not feel like we have control over the outcome, but one thing we do have control over is the ability to get involved. we can donate time and money to local children's hospitals.

last friday i spent a couple of hours in a local children's hospital manning phones for the radio fund and taking donations. you can go donate your time and get involved in many volunteer programs at our hospitals. prounced rather than some of the things we may not be able to do much about or have control over, jump in. do something where you have the ability to provide some support. make a difference. host: in this morning's "time", paul krugman writes "leaving children behind." bee

our last call for john lauck comes from california on the s.ne for independent caller: i see something bogging down the health care system, and it is a lot of fat on top. i see a lot of small nonprofit hospitals with a six-figure ceo, who does not want to trim anything from the top. it is good that you bring specialists and things in, but those people are not being paid enough for what they do, or they're doing it