people accountable to the strictest standards of safety and manufacture. and i'm i am just concerned about the fda. i have a love-hate relationship with the fda, i can tell you that. sometimes they do good things, and other times they do not know what -- they do not do what they should be doing. more often than not, it is because we have not given them the resources with which to do it. i do not mean that we do not want to give them, we should give them the resources. we have asked them to do a myriad of things, and yet we do not give them the resources to carry it out. out. so count me as one that also believes we ought to do more in terms of giving the fda those resources. i just think under the present budget resources and stuff like

that, it's probably not going to happen. >> did anyone have any final comment? i think we're now starting to vote. i have to go vote. you'll set a new land speed record? >> yes, sir. friday and saturday. >> so you'll break the sound barrier? >> not the sound barrier. in our class, about 170 miles an hour. >> i don't know what class this is. >> different cars run at different records. our class record is about 170 we're shooting. . >> i thought somebody broke the sound barrier on -- >> somebody did break the sound barrier. 746 miles an hour is the new record. everyone has to have goals, senators. you started out as a councilman, you moved up and everything. >> well, good luck to you. >> thank you all very much. the record will be kept open for ten?

[captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2009]

>> the full senate confirm doug sonia sotomayor or as the new supreme court justice. the next term officially begins monday, october 5. today on c-span, watson -- highlights from the senate for debate at 7:00 eastern on "america and the courts." coming this fall, into the home to america's highest court, the supreme court. >> president obama used his

weekly online address to refute critics of pending health-care legislation. the republican addresses given this week by bob mcdonnell, the candidate for virginia governor. he talks about the economy, job creation, and the federal energy bill. >> on friday we received better news than we expected about the state of our economy. we learned that we lost 247 nelson jobs in july, some 200,000 fewer jobs than we lost in june, and far fewer than the nearly 700,000 a month we were losing at the beginning of the year. of course, this is little comfort to anyone who saw their jobs disappear in july, and to the millions of americans who are looking for work. i will not rest until anyone who is looking for work can find a job. still, this month's job numbers are a sign that we have begun to put the brakes on this recession and that the worst may be behind us, but we must do more than rescue our economy from this immediate crisis. we must rebuild it stronger than before.

we must lay a new foundation for future growth and prosperity, and a key pillar of the new foundation is health insurance reform. reform that we are now closer to achieving it than ever before. there are still details to be hammered out. there are still differences to be reconciled, but we are moving toward a broad consensus on reform. four committees in congress have produced legislation, and unprecedented level of agreement on a difficult and complex challenge. in addition to the ongoing work in congress, drug companies have agreed to make prescription drugs more affordable for seniors. the aarp supports reform because of the better care offered to seniors, and the american nurses association and american medical associated, which represent the millions of nurses and doctors who know our healthcare system best, all support reform as well. as we draw close to finalizing in passing real health insurance

reform, the defenders of the status quo are going fiercer -- growing fiercer in their opposition. in recent days and weeks, some have been using misleading information to defeat what they know is the best chance of reform we have ever had. that is why it is important, especially now, as senators and representatives head home and meet with their constituents, for you, the american people, to have all the facts. let me explain what reform will mean for you. let me start by dispelling the latest rumors that reform will promote euthanasia or cut medicaid or bring about a government takeover of health care. that is simply not true. this is not about putting government in charge of your health insurance. it is about putting you in charge of your health insurance. other reforms we see, if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor. if you like your healthcare plan, you can keep your healthcare plan. while reform is obviously

essential to the 46 million americans who do not help but health insurance, it will provide more stability and security to the hundreds of millions to do. right now we have a system that works well for the insurance industry, but that does not always work well for you. what we need, and what will happen with pass health insurance reform or consumer protections make sure that those who have insurance are treated fairly and that insurance companies are held accountable. we will require insurance companies to cover routine checkups and preventive care like mammograms and colonoscopy, or for exams for diabetics some of --, so we can avoid conditions that cost so much money. i'll never forget watching my own mother as she fought cancer in her final days, worrying about whether her insurer would claim her illness was a pre- existing condition. i have met so many americans who worry about the same thing, and that is why under these reforms,

insurance companies will no longer be able to deny coverage because of a previous illness or injury. insurance companies will no longer be allowed to drop or water down coverage for someone who has become seriously ill. your health insurance ought to be there for you when it counts, and reform will make sure it is. with reform, insurance companies will also have to limit how much you can be charged for out-of- pocket expenses, and it will stop insurance companies from placing arbitrary caps on the amount of courage can receive in a given year for a lifetime, because no one in america should go broke because of an illness. in the end, the debate about health insurance reform boils down to a choice between two approaches. the first is almost guaranteed to double health care costs of the next decade, leave millions more americans without insurance, leave those with insurance vulnerable to arbitrary denials of coverage, and bankrupt state and federal governments. that is the status quo. that is the health care system

we have right now. so we can either continue this approach, or can choose another, one that will protect people against unfair insurance practices, provide quality, affordable insurance to every american, and bring down rising costs that are swapping families, businesses, and our budgets. that is the health care system we can bring about with reform. there are those who are focused on the so-called politics of health care, trying to exploit differences or concerns for political gain. that is to be expected. that is washington. but let's never forget that this is not about politics. this is about people's lives, about people's businesses. this is about america's future. that is what is at stake. that is why health insurance reform is so important. that is why we have to get this done, and why we will get this done by the end of this year. >> i am bob mcdonnell from virginia. times are tough in our state, and in yours.

yesterday's jobs report is yet another reminder that families and small businesses are struggling as unemployment remains high. here in virginia, we face unemployment rates at a 25-year high. as i travel throughout our state, i listen to our people who are concerned about the jobs they have, worry about finding the jobs they need, and concern about what jobs will be available for their children in the years ahead. as a father five, i share those same concerns. that is why our main goal in virginia is to bring people together to create new jobs and more opportunities all across our state. we want government at all levels to be a partner in promoting small business an entrepreneur ship. as republicans, we believe you create those new jobs by keeping taxes and regulation low and litigation at a minimum. americans succeed when government puts in place positive policies and encourage more freedom and more opportunities right now,

virginians are particularly worried about cap and trade legislation in washington. this would amount to a huge new national energy tax. if implemented, electricity rates would skyrocket and jobs would be lost. two weeks ago, i was in covington in western virginia. i visited an international packaging company, the largest employer in the area, providing between hundred good jobs. they tell me that cap and trade, if passed, would threaten those good jobs. mark george, the vice president of the facility, and tell me this. i feel that the next governor of virginia and ever represented we have should care about keeping those good jobs in virginia. i agree. we must do everything we can to keep and grow jobs in virginia and in every state in our country. that is why we strongly oppose cap and trade, a job killing energy tax that would put american companies at a tremendous competitive disadvantage, with employees in other countries.

is the wrong policy for a nation struggling with the worst economy in generations. that is why we fought against the job killing card check legislation that is being pushed by big national labor unions and democrats in congress. and, we are committed where where americans to get the health care coverage they need, not through nationalizing the system with a costly government- run plan, but by supporting free-market incentives to help small business owners make coverage more accessible and affordable. and assuring that americans can keep their individual private policies. government must be more efficient and more council, which is why we are calling to an end to the new government spending that is leading to an exploding deficit and burdening our children with the new debt that will have to repay. the cornerstone of our founders system of federalism is that the state's or the laboratories of democracy, where new ideas can be tried and new innovations unleashed. in virginia, i am calling for an

internally freely offshore drilling, selling state-run liquor stores to put more cash into transportation, and expanding access for beginning students at our colleges. i said that the president is right in his call for real education reform, with more charter schools and more performance pay for great teachers and principals. that is a bipartisan reform that will help all our children get the education they need today, to get those good jobs of tomorrow. together we will use innovation and free markets to bring new jobs and more opportunities to virginia and america. have a great weekend. >> sunday, frank rich reflects on 15 years of political columns for "the new york times." including his look at the future of the internet from 1995, the whitewater hearings, and his column falling 9/11. "q&a" sunday night on c-span. >> however c-span funded? >> i'd of nations. >> federal funds or grant funds. >> may be from private

contributions. >> honestly, i don't know. >> i would say from commercials. >> something from the government. >> how c-span funded? 30 years ago cut, america's cable companies created c-span, a private business initiative, no government and it, no government money." >> this week on "the communicator's," a discussion of the future of the fcc with robert mcdowell. >> we are pleased to welcome back robert mcdowell, sec commissioner, just three concerned by the senate for his second five-year term. joining us, amy schatz. thank you for being here. let's start broadly. first of all, this is a two- partner. what in the next six months to one year would you like to see the