good money after bad habits. instead, we must attack the root causes of skyrocketing health- care costs. some of these costs are the result of unwarranted profiteering, which has no place in the health-care system, and into many communities, people are paying higher costs without receiving better care in return. yet we know for example there are places like the mayo clinic in minnesota, the cleveland clinic in ohio, and other institutions that offer some of the highest quality care in the nation at some of the lowest costs in the nation. we should learn from their successes and promote the best practices, not the most expensive. that is how we will achieve reform that fixes what does not work and builds on what does. this week, i conveyed to congress my belief that any health care reform must be built around a fundamental reforms that the war costs. improve quality and coverage, and also protect the smart choice. that means if you like the plan you have, you can keep it. if you like the doctor you have,

keep your doctor, too. the only change you will see are falling costs as our reforms take hold. . all across america, families are making hard choices when it comes to health care. now it's time for washington to make the right ones. it is time to deliver. i am absolutely convinced that if a keep working together and living up to our mutual responsibilities, it would place the american people's interest above the special interests, we will seize this historic opportunity to finally fix what ails our broken health care

system and strengthen our economy and our country, now and for decades to come. >> i am jeff sessions, senator from the state of alabama and ranking member of the senate judiciary committee. before i talk about the federal courts, i want to make note that in the early hours of the morning, 65 years ago today, a generation's worth the brave americans sailed across the troubled waters of the english channel to an unknown fate on the beaches of normandy. they came from all walks of american life, from the northern cities to small southern towns, united behind a devotion to their country and a belief that democracy and freedom should not perish from the earth. with a keen awareness of the danger that lay ahead, they stormed the court -- coast of normandy with a four century that would forever change the human course of history. too few of those heroes as set out across so stormy waters on june 6, 1944, are with us today,

but we take a moment now to honor their great sacrifice, to thank all those who have served our country, and to keep alive the memories of lost loved ones. the greatest generation bestowed on us the gifts of a continued liberty and democratic government, each based on the exceptional american commitment to the rule law. this week, i met with sonia sotomayor, president obama's nominee to the united states supreme court. she has a rich and engaging personality, a marvelous personal story. she also has a strong resume, the sort of education and legal background we should look for in a nominee. she has spent time in private practice, served as a federal prosecutor, and now sits as an appellate judge on the second circuit court of appeals. as i told her during our meeting, i and my republican colleagues in the senate are firmly committed to conducting a fair and respectful process.

too often in the past, confirmation hearings have devolved into political theater, short on substance and long on distortions of character and record. i am convinced that the senate can do better, when the american people look back on these hearings, i hope they will remember them as the most substantive, thorough, and thoughtful and memory, and focused on the issues that really matter. the fact is, the senate confirmation hearings are too important to squander. this is because only five justices are needed to declare the meaning of our constitution and laws, and might defining the meaning of our constitution, judges have the power to impose their will on the people. unlike congress or the president, who are accountable to the voters at the ballot box, judges are granted lifetime tenure to exercise their power. with that in mind, we in the senate have an obligation to act

on behalf of the american people, to carefully scrutinize the nominee's records before nomination. we will examine the nominee's previous judicial records. we will study her academic writings and speeches. we will ask tough, probing questions, and in every instance, we will give the nominee a fair opportunity to provide full and complete answers. one issue that marriage close examination during this process is a -- one issue that merits examination is the direction of the legal system. although we sometimes take our heritage of neutral an independent judiciary for brennan, the truth is, this great tradition is under attack. the american people are rightly concerned. i am troubled by president obama's use of the empathy standard when selecting federal judges. with this view, a judge should use his or her personal feelings about a particular group or

issue to decide a case. it stands in stark contrast to the impartiality that we expect in the american courtroom. if the judge is allowed to let his or her feelings for one party in the case this way his decision, has and that judge then demonstrated a bias against the other party? if a judge is allowed to inject his personal views into his interpretation of the law, does he not then have a license to rewrite the laws to suit his own preferences? i fear that this into the standard is another step down the path to a cynical, results oriented world where words and laws have no fixed meaning, where unelected judges set policy, and were constitutional limits on government power are ignored when they are inconvenient to the powerful. this standard is deeply

troubling, because it is so contradictory to our country's long heritage of a fateful and impartial adherence to the rule block. impartiality is a cornerstone of the american legal system. the rule of law is a hallmark of an orderly society. together they form the basis for the moral authority of law. that moral authority is the reason that americans every day respect and accept the rulings of courts even when they strongly disagree. as a member of the armed services committee, i have traveled to iraq and pakistan and afghanistan numerous times. what the people of those countries want desperately, and need more than anything, is the rule of law. a guarantee that contracts will be fairly enforced, that rights will not be infringed, and that grievances will be peacefully addressed. our legal system is the bedrock of our liberty and prosperity.

it is unique in all the world. we must do all we can to protect it. i hope that the american people will engage in this nomination process and followed closely. they should learn about the issues and listen to both sides of the argument. at the end of the day, they should ask, if i must when they go to court, what kind of judge i want to hear my case? do i want a judge that allows his or her social, political, or religious views to impact the outcome? or do i want a judge that objectively applies the law to the facts and fairly rules on the merits. that is the central question of around which this entire nomination process will recall. thank you, and god bless america. >> earlier this week, president obama delivered a major speech to the muslim world from cairo, egypt. we will show you that speech sunday at 10:30 a.m. eastern on

c-span. >> president obama attended ceremonies in normandy, france. more than 2500 american servicemen were killed in that battle, which is considered by historians to be the turning point in the war in europe. president obama spoke along with french president nicolas sarkozy, park ridge prime minister gordon brown, and canadian prime minister stephen harper. -- british prime minister gordon brown. >> president obama, your royal highness, prime minister rao, prime minister harbor, presidents are cozy, distinguished guests, ladies and

gentlemen, please be seated. -- president sarkozy. it is our privilege to welcome all the illustrious visitors joining us today. we extend a special welcome to the d-day and world war ii veterans and family members in attendance to honor us all with their presence. [applause] today we commemorate the 60th anniversary of the d-day landings that took place in the early morning hours of june 6, 1944. today's ceremony will honor the soldiers, sailors, and air man who made the supreme sacrifice so that europe might be liberated. included among those so honored

are the 3881 who lost their lives on the day at omaha beach, and the 9387 of our dead who are buried at this cemetery. [speaking french]

>> ladies and gemlease tell your heads in prayer for the invocation delivered by a u.s. army chaplain colonel thomas mcgregor. [speaking french] >> our gracious loving father in heaven, we ask for the blessing of your presence on the significant event that touches the lives of the families and citizens of the grateful nations here represented. magnify yourself this day, as we pause to fittingly remember those men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice for the freedom of france and the allied

nations during the second world war. truly, this is sacred ground, for it holds the remains of those hero warriors whose dreams were cut short and who have entered their eternal rest. many cried out to you as they breached their last. -- as they breathed their last. hogan, salve now the hearts of those who mourn. timber the memory of those whose loved ones perished in a terrific conflicts at sea and on these bloody fields of battle so many years ago. lovingly support the family members and friends who grieve the loss of a loved one, most --

go past and present. help us look ahead to that grand and glorious day when you shall return, the dead shall be raised, loved ones be rejoined once again, and all wars shall cease. oh god, speed the day of your coming, we ask. guard this day, the soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, and coastguardsman of our several nations who fight for liberty and freedom of oppressed peoples. grant each a special measure of your presence, protection, and abiding grace. indeed, years is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. in jesus' name, amen. >> ladies and gentlemen, the president of the french

republic, nicolas sarkozy. [applause] >> mr. president of the united states of america, your royal highness, mr. prime minister of canada, prime minister of the united kingdom, great britain, and northern ireland, the french prime minister, the presidents of the french senate and national assembly, ladies and gentlemen. there were 135,000 of them in thousands of boats. they formed two armies. one was american and the other army a british canadian army. a few hours before, they had been wished well before they left.

they were all silent. what were they thinking about, these young soldiers, as their eyes looked ahead, staring at the thin, black strip of coast that slowly merged out of the fog? what were they thinking of? were they thinking about their lives that had been so short? were they thinking about the kiss is their mothers had planted on their foreheads whenever young? were they thinking about the tears that their fathers held back when they laugheeft, or the tears that were waiting for them on the other side of the ocean? what were these young soldiers thinking of? the soldiers in whose hands history had placed the fate of so many people. what were they thinking of? other than the fact that at 20 years old, it was far too soon to die. their silence was like a prayer,

and standing before them on the beaches, 50,000 germans waited for them, also in silence. the evening before, the french resistance had blown up a city with dynamite. the paratroopers from the united states and from a british division had been dropped but -- dropped behind the first line of defense. between 3:15 and 5:00 a.m., 5000 bombers had bombed the entire coast. that 4:15 a.m., the troops started to be transported a -- to the boats. the guns of warships opened fire. at 6:30 a.m., the disembark and had begun.

the winds were very strong. the boats were buffeted by waves that were several meters high. the soldiers were soaked, freezing, sick. they were bailing out their boats with their helmets. those who got out too soon drowned. the small boats sank, many of them before they even reached their targets. out of the 19 tanks of the canadian division, 15 were lost before they even reached the shore. those who did reach the shore had to step over the wounded and the dead who were floating in the water, being swept away by the tides. that had to step over bodies buried in the sand. one of the first american soldiers who disembarked on omaha beach wrote later, " it seemed entirely unreal, sir

real, like a living nightmare. you could walk over the entire beach without ever talking -- without ever touching the ground, because there's so many bodies littering the beach." the young german who took his machine gun and started to fire also felt the same nightmare as he looked at the vast spaces before him, littered with bodies, with hundreds and hundreds of lifeless bodies -- hundreds and thousands of lifeless bodies. 120,000 allied soldiers had disembarked in addition to the 32,000 men from the air divisions. among them were more than 10,000 dead, wounded, and missing. on the evening of june 12, after ferocious fighting, the allied soldiers had managed to establish a front that was 90

kilometers in length and 10-20 kilometers deep. the battle of normandy was to last until august 29. on that date, 2 million allied soldiers had disembarked. 38,500 had been killed, 150,000 wounded, and 19,000 were missing in action. on the german side, 60,000 were dead, 140,000 wounded, 200,000 or taken prisoner, and 20,000 civilians had also lost their lives. the battle of normandy decided the fate of this war, but this battle was won on the beaches and in the fields by the sons of farmers, sons of american workers, whose fathers had also fought in 1918. this battle was won by british soldiers who were the

incarnation of the hero of values of our great people that in the darkest period of its history, never gave up. this battle was won by canadian soldiers who, starting from the first few days of the war, volunteered to go to battle, not because the country was threatened, but because the were convinced that it was a question of honor. the battle of normandy was one by the soldiers of the first polish armored division who were fighting near the cliffs and who provided cover. the battle of normandy was won by check, danish, and norwegian aviators, by belgian and dutch paratroopers, by the ss that were fighting in british uniforms. the battle of normandy was one by 20-year-old soldiers who

killed so that they would not be killed. the battle of normandy was one bite 20-year-old soldiers who were afraid of dying, but who fought for from their homelands with admirable courage, faced with a merciless enemy, as though the fate of their own homeland was at stake. the battle of normandy was revenge for czechoslovaks and poland, for belgium and the netherlands, for france, that had been defeated in five weeks. the battle of normandy was the revenge for all those who fell at dunkirk. so today, everyone can understand the motion of france, as we stand before the 9000 american graves in this cemetery where we have gathered today. mr. president of the united states, i wish to pay tribute on

behalf of france to those of your children who shed their blood on this ground in normandy and who will rest here for eternity. we will never forget them. mr. president, i would also like to say thank you to the remaining survivors of this tragedy, those who are present here today alongside us. i would like to say thank you to all those whose courage allowed us to overcome one of the most barbaric periods of our history. you fought for a cause, a cause that you know deep within yourselves was greater than yourself and greater than your own life. not a single one of you, not a single one of your comrades retreated. we owe our liberty to you. we could cite the names of all these heroes to whom we owe so much, but let us say that france

will never, ever forget them. it is on this ground, at this very place, where we see a reinforcement of our unfailing french ship between france and the united states, between france and great britain, beef between france and canada. among these fallen soldiers, there was your grandfather, a sergeant in the american army, and two of his brothers. for all french citizens, mr. president, you are on two levels, through the office that you hold and for the blood that flows through your veins, the symbol of the america that we love, the america that defense the highest spiritual and moral values, an america that fight for liberty, for democracy, and for human rights.

you are the symbol of an open, generous, and tolerant america. mr. president, mr. prime minister of canada, american and canadian soldiers have come to fight on two occasions alongside the british and french. what would have become of the world if you had not come? out of this question, the answer to which is so clear and so tragic, was born in europe. out of so much ruin, out of so many coffins, we all understood that we had to put an end to the infernal cycle of vengeance that in every war planted the seed for the next war and brought european peoples to the brink of annihilation. so yes, we have made peace, and

we have billed europe so that peace will always remain. we owe this to all the victims. we owe this to all the young soldiers who sacrificed themselves for us. we owe it to our children to spare them from the same suffering. we owe it to all the people that you are a drug into this tragedy, all those who fought against nazism and fascism. they did so with -- for a better world. we know there is much ground to cover. we know that the work before us will be difficult, but we know also what a united europe and the u.s., faithful to its values, can accomplish together. the threats that hang over the future of humanity today are of another nature than those of the

great to tell an area the -- great totalitarianism of the 20 sentry. what will happen to the world because of global warming? hundreds of thousands of men and women and children will not have enough food to eat. what will happen if out of cowardice we abandon democracy and leave the door open to terrorism and fanaticism? what will happen to the world it democracies give up fighting for human rights and the rights of people? out of the fight fought by free people was born the ideal of the united nations. our duty is to ensure that this ideal lives on. if not, what purpose would have served all the blood that was shed here come all the sacrifices that were made here, all the suffering that occurred? the heroic get who will lie here in rest can never be forgotten in our history. the greatest tribute we can ever

paid to them, the only one that actually counts, is to try to be worthy of what they accomplished for us. on june 7, 1944, when sergeant bob sutler found himself standing on omaha beach where he had disembarked the evening before, he was overcome by the vision, the side of all these bodies strewn along the beach, of soldiers and friends he had known since the child. he wrote, we were brothers. we will always be brothers. they died so that we could live, and i thank them for what they gave us. for the rest of his life, he would remain haunted by these austere basis, their mouths wide open, their eyes fixed in the coldness of debt. as the german brigadier wrote later, since that time, i have

always and constantly seen in my dreams a loan gi, floating in the great waves of my dreams, as he lands on the beaches, he takes his weapon, and is, and fires. his helmet rolls away in slow motion. he falls face down on the sand, carried away by the waves that had just brought him to the beach, and then he fades away before my very eyes. just as the american soldier who saw the hallucinated look at beit importee who was stupefied to have survived hell, as this american soldier said, he understood finally why they had fought, and he realized why we never wanted war again. out of all this suffering that your soldiers carry in them and that they can never get rid