and we will have this on the desk of the president early this month. -- later this month.

>> we regret that the republicans did not support this. they did not want to support universe at healthcare for all american people.

>> we stand here on the side of americans. we stand on the side of history that says we the democrats know how to do a social contract with the american people that provides them with the safety net in terms of the healthcare that they node. i want to thafrpg senator chris dodd with the leadership he provided and was called for. he provided the skill and openness of the debate that i think truly honors this unity in the senate. i thank you, chris, and my colleagues for their great contribution. >> i want to join everybody in congratulating senator dodd in his leadership. >> i sdo think that as part of

this markup we have had to make key decisions in the markup including the design of a public option. it includes what kind of responsibility we'll pull on individuals and employers, small employers. all of that has been done very well. this is one piece of legislation that will work with others making their way through the committee process in the senate and the house. i think when our colleagues look at the different places you can come out on these issues, you will see we can make wise decisions. i congratulate all of my

colleagues. this process was a fair one. >> let me thank senator dodd for the work he has done putting this bill together and bringing together everybody's ideas about healthcare reform. i know he did it with senator kennedy sitting on his shoulder. today, this committee has brought together an incluesive bill that focuses on the needs of our families. to make sure that our families out there today, who don't have access to healthcare and can't pay for it or feel like they have a choice about personal decisions they have about their health. providing access is critical.

without the doctors and nurses and healthcare providers, you'll never achieve that access. we move forward and look forward to see what the finance commit does. and tell our neighbors and friends that the united states congress is dealing with the most important issue of the day, making sure people in our state have access to healthcare. i think about a young boy named marcelous who lost his mom. she got sick and couldn't see a doctor. lost her job because she was

sick. this boy lost his mom. >> any questions we have? this were numerous things i went through dealing with the republican contributions. working on long-term care, working on small business, there were numerous contributions made from our republican friends. they made it a better bill.

that's the way it is supposed to be. i regret they didn't think it significant enough to pass. the important issue is a good bill. geth a by part sdan bill that doesn't do anything for the people out this depending on it is not going to be warmly received. it is the millions of our fellow citizens that either have no coverager undercover age who are

losing jobs, losing homes. >> senator dodd, [inaudible] >> i'm confident max will get a bill. he's a good member, a great friend over the years. people like jeff bingaman. we get the two bills together. we have been working with the finance committee and put together a strong bill.

he's been deeply engaged and i have every confidence. supporting our efforts this president is deeply committed to doing everything he can. he cares deeply about this issue. i've listened to him over again say how much this means to him. on his watch, he's able to get it done.

while that wasn't enough to bring it across that finish line i'll continue to work with him. it's a good bill.

>> i think we addressed it in the committee. we like the idea that people have choices. we respect that and we'll pursue that. we don't want to sdrim nate on our convictions. the kennedy amendment was adopted. in states of emergency, we don't want someone to be denied

healthcare. there's no reason a good part, if not all of our bill, would be adopted. >> [inaudible] >> that's the response of the committees. we have to fix the ways to pay for all of this. a lot of this, we were dealing with our bill. we'll have to grapple with other mechanisms for it. we have finished our job. i respect those who have the job of doing that. at this point, i don't want topre include the idea necessary to complete the bill. thank you all very much.

>> senate health committee republicans hold their own news brief hearing. this is 35 minutes. >> good morning, as you know, the bill on healthcare just passed out of the senate health committee on party line. there's a good reason for that. the president set some goals and said everyone should be civered. if you like what you have, you could keep it. we needed to drive down the cost of healthcare and it should be paid for. that bill gets an f. it does not civer any of those things. it is a tragedy. healthcare affects 1/6th of the economy. it effects every american,

business, provider. this is the most comprehensive thing we have ever addressed in the united states senate. it is important that we get it right. that bill got it wrong. we tried through a long process of amendments to get it right. we got it wrong. we did a bunch of amendments to point out the flaws in the bill. this bill will not meet any of the president's goals. we had only half of the draft.

the bill failed in what it was set out to do. i hope they can fix this. we had five republican bill that's answered all of the things the president did. we had to do those. we have to get rid of if it is suggested by the republicans it has to be bad. >> thank you for your leadership in the last few weeks.

>> the democrat throughout the first pitch last night this bill leaves 34 million people uncovered we should get under control of the healthcare. it adds over $1 trillion i have specfic yik proposals i can bend

the cost of healthcare and make sure the government can keep their insurance. it was regrettable when we offered the amendments, the issues raise their primary concerns >> senator. thank you. the president stated clearly at the start of the process that healthcare was unsustainable at its current pass. today, 17% of the gross domestic product. we agree that the goal was to produce the healthcare to reduce

the cost of healthcare it insured the wellness and disease management not only does the bill passed out of the industry fall $34 million short of full coverage. it is unsustainable financially. it will penalize those who have insurance today. it will affect the cost of their

healthcare and possibly on who their provider of choice would be. we have two numbers and that is 13 and 10. when it was a republican amendment, it was defeated 13-10. when 2 was a democrat amendment, it passed 13-10. >> thank you for your work. i want to focus on how we did not put all of the issues on the table. the pleas statedfully at the beginning that he wanted to level the curve and start a downward turn on the cost. we all know one of the continuing facteds droifing up cost is defensive healthcare,

frif owe luis lawsuits. one of the more significant contributors to cost was rejected u man newsly. >> we had to refer to that seniority level this. i think as we look at the process, it's important to recognize what happened and what

is important to happen. many were accepted and the vote may have been 13-10, there was a level of fairness throughout. let me give you an example of the friends accepted from myself. they were all technical amendments. we were making sure the indian tribes gone through the draft making sure there was a level of

equity providing across the country. this is a fair process, a bipartisan process. some of the other points, when we talk about the i am pkt to small business, it's important to recognize that things can go on on one side of the hill and through our laws of consequences, we can really style things up on the other side. and one thing is considering

using tarp funds for a bail out. we have said, ok, small byes, we are going to assess a pretty substantial tax to you. employees, if you are an employer with over 50 employees, you will be taxed about $20 ,000. what will happen if they can't pay that? they will shut their doors and jobs will be lost. one of the things i brought up is the access in america. 17% have limited access a primary care provider. what we are doing is squeezing

it down. we are a saying that the reimbursement rate may be even less than what the medicare rates are paying now. my doctors in alaska are saying we can't participate in a plan like that. where do our people go for care? we might give you a card for coverage, if we can't see you, we haven't provided anything for americans. >> all of us republicans are committed to the prospect. healthcare has to be available and affordable. the problem with healthcare is not the quality, it's the cost of healthcare. we will point out that this legislation does not have one

single provision. glaring in the absence is any reform. not one provision. one of the major yib fors is the requirement of doctors to practice defensive medicine for fear of appearing in court and having high legal bills and the cost of health insurance we have to consider what we have done, by the way, when the committee passed itself out without knowing the cost of billions of dollars in provisions that we passed by a 13-10 vote. here we are in the highest

deficit with a bill going to stop the finance. it will lead to job losses. the c.b. o. says pay or play, companies take steps to become smaller. it will force americans out of the coverage they want and believe in. that's not keeping them where they like it. elections have consequences. this is a glaring example of that. this is another generationnal burden. the whole process that we have

been through is one of the most bizarre that we have been involved in in my years in the united states senate. >> i want to thank my colleagues for summing this up pretty good. let me just take a copy of a letter from senator great from mr. almondorf. it's an interesting letter. i thought i'd read one part of the paragraph. the c.b. o. has not yet had time.

our prelim any analysis indicates the broad range of $500 billion over 10 years. they tried cut this down to $600 billion. it will result in a substantial increase of medicaid enrollment. all told, the number of non-elderly people enrolled will

decline. i don't care who you are. you realize they are spending too much, taxing us too much to get there and running legislation that is totally partisan that isn't& going to work. medicare alone is estimated at $33 trillion to $39 trillion in

debt. let me tell you this isn't some republican making this point. vi to tell you this, healthcare reform is not a democrat nor republican issue. it's an american issue. there have been some amendments where to take. within $0.50 of every federal dollar being deficit finance, we are going to spend another

$1.5-$2 trillion. when programs like medicare on a pass, it has a future cost of $39 trillion or almost $300,000 per family. the employer mandate will kill jobs in a time that unemployment is so high. americans will not only see a government bureaucrat step in between them and their doctors, they will see healthcare costs rise and a strong possible that they will loose the current

coverage. they say this issue is a priority for the president, he may not roll up his sleeve. we've been working hard on this bill. it's time he does roll up his sleeve and work with us. my amendment on follow on biologics that protects innovation while creating a path way was a great example of by partisan partnership. after a÷( really tough debate. let's not just get it done, let's get it done right. let's ensure quality, affordable healthcare for every american. it is the lease that our fellow

americans discern. >> this is getting to be an unfortunate refrain. one washington debt and another take over. including a bipartisan proposal that would have gone in a completely different direction. our goal is to reduce the cost of healthcare for americans. when we finish to give americans a government that they can form. it doesn't do that. the bipartisan proposal would have created dollars for low income americans to buy more of the same kind of insurance the rest of us buy. it would have done it without adding to the government debt or

reyating a program. that was rejected expanding one failed government program and creating another. the medicaid proposal will bankrupt state fzfully implement. the idea will be to dump into a failed medicaid program. the amount of dollars that will cost in tennessee about equals a 10% income tax. in other states it would be similar. that would be civered as time goes on. the president has said we need to watch our entitlement spending. he said two weeks ago, we need to make sure healthcare is paid

for. we'll take several weeks of work. we won't move ahead until we know sdaktly what all of those programs cost so the american taxpayer can know before we vote. >> thank you. you've heard what just passed out of commiton on a partisan line. there is a long-term care provision in'wv there. it only counts the revenue that comes in because nobody could use the care until after the

budget window closed. we do have an amendment we were successful on. there is a provision in there for healthcare provision. it provides a slush fund each year of $10 billion. that money can be used for side walks and jungle gyms. it's going to be instituted

through this bill. we'll have $119 people forced out of ips they have now into a government plan we have something called clinical effectiveness, that's rationing. that's what the united kingdom has with quality of life year. that means the older you are, the less care you get. the older you are, the longer you have to wait for treatment, the people die. that's not the system we'll buy in american. we will not settle for our older

people dying. that's just a few of the things that this bill does. there's a long process. we hope there will be some corrections. i mentioned there were five republican plans. it would have civered everybody and provided port ability. all of those meet the press's criteria. none of those were used. we know that the american people already understand.

already undeh tand. greater rate everyday. this bill will have to meet the criteria set out by everybody buzz it effects everybody. we thank you. >> are there any questions. we have some criteria on how that will work. it cannot be at the expense of

medicaid, medicare. that's a difficult task. a lot of ideas there. i'm hopeful that in the finance committee, we'll have a better hearing than we had in the health committee. >> i question whether there's that amount of money and the surcharge. unfortunately, those that count on that coverage. in the end, they will loose more

jobs. then they have this approach they are trying to put over that will really cost low income workers their job. there are so many things wrong with what they are proposing. this would be much less expensive and do the job a lot better i agree with the chairman of this committee, they are going to tax us right into oblivion. in the end, that's why i read this one paragraph. he's a straight shooter.

i can tell you right now, they are hoiding a lot of the cost with the sdtbudget. it's not fair. this expense will be left to the state because the federal government cannot afford to keep it going. it's going to bankrupt almost every state in the union. that's not good government or legislation. we know we are not going to have the great idea it takes to inter combrat a great healthcare

system. >> [inaudible] the way the bill is written right now, they can ignore the amendment. one way to have this moved as law is to have the taxpayers pay for abortions. let me tell you, if we start down that road, by partisanship

will be evenless. in the end we'll have less effective healthcare. of course it does. i think it's a terrible mistake. we've been able to get along because the language says we should not have to pay. one of the poles shows finally a majority are opposed to abortion in this country. it is narrowing for sure. people are getting tired of this

slauter. i think what brought this about is the partial birth abortion. a viable-c7 baby is turned arou and scissors shoved into its head. it's brought al. >> how confident are you for a bill that republicans can sign on to? >> i don't think reconsiliation

is an option at all. i am hoping that the finance committee little will be more bipartisan. i appreciate the openness i am also very concerned the merger. we did a pension bill. when we merged that through, i don't know whether that will be the case in this one. i suspect it won't. how they emerge and whether any

of the provision also make it no the final bill, we don't know. if this is going to be the bipartisan that will show that it will work, it needs to be. if it winds up 60 votes or 61 votes, it will be the most liberal bill we have ever seen and do things we won't ever be able to correct. thank you. >> the senate finance committee must complete work on its healthcare bill, which is estimated to have a $1 trillion

price tag. they each hope to pass their healthcare bills before the august recess. >> now president obama's remarks from the white house rose garden. he is joined by senator dodd and a group of nurses. this islú 10 minutes.

>> we have a few nurses here. i've told you before how much i love nurses. >> the administrator of health resources at hhs. keisha walker. currently a senior research nurse. dr. rebecca whiteman from the university of maryland school of nursing. and i'm joined by representative johnson and represent caps and mccarthy, senator george miller and my friend chris dodd. i am very pleased to be joined today by representatives of the american nurses association on

behalf of 2.9 registered nurses. as i said before, i have a long standing bias for nurses. when shasha was diagnosed with a dangerous case of menagitis, we were very afraid. it was the nurses that walked us through this. when both our girls were born, we saw the delivery doctor both times for about 10 minutes. the nurses were there the whole

time. i know how important nurses are. they aren't in it to get rich last i checked. if it weren't for nurses, many americans would have no access to healthcare at all. it is safe to say if you understand why we have to passq the reform as intimately as our nurses. they see firsthand the outraging cost of her health coverage. insurance premiums and

prescriptions that they consume a family's entire budget. families forced to use the emergency room for a sore throat because they cannot afford to see a doctor. health insurance premiums have sky rocketed. every single day we wait to act, thousands hurt. make no mistake, the status quo in healthcare is not an option.

i know a lot of americans are safed with their care right now. let me be clear, if you like your doctor or healthcare provider, you can keep them. if you like your healthcare plan, you can keep them too. people that have health insurance, you'll save money. if you have a preexisting medical condition, no insurance company will be able to denying you kfr roth. you won't have to worry about one illness leading your family into financial ruin.

the sin yiks still doubt we can do is it. it wasn't too long ago that those nay sayers didn't think we could make progress to healthcare reform. yesterday, the house introduced its healthcare proposal. the senate health committee made a similar pass. a plan debated for 60 hours and 160 republican amendments. . both proposals will take what is best and make it the basis for

our system tomorrow. reducing cost, raising authority and ensuring fair treatment by the insurance industry. both include a health insurance exchange. a marketplace that provides family to compare prices, servicesnd quality. among the choice available would be a public health insurance option providing more choices and keeping insurance companies honest. both proposals will offer stablt and security for american who's have coverage today and affordable options to those that don't. providing the urge yen si for both the house and senate before the august recess. america's nurses need us to

succeed. if we invest in prevention, nurses wopt have to see diseases that could have been prevented. if we make their job more easy, we can attract and train nurses and make up the nurses shortage that is only getting nurse. nurses do their part every time they check a healthy patient out of the hospital. we were talking and becky said, we need to buck up. that's what nurses do all the time. they buck up patients and sometimes a young resident.

congress, this administration and the entire federal government to be clear we can get this done. nurses on board, the american people on board, get this done. don't defer tough decisions to another day. or we can step up and lead. come together and build a system that works not just for these nurses but for the patients they care for. we are going to be talking about this for the next 2-3 weeks until we have a bill out of the senate and house. then we'll discern a few week

rest. .kryou, everybody. >> mr. president, small business says they get hammered by the health bill. will you respond.

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