[cheers and applause] the beauty of the declaration of independence@@@@@ @ @ @ @ @ @ @7 >> the individual gives power back to government. not unlimited power, limited power back to government. i think these people have re- defined the word limited. i think that with the prefix "un" in front of limited. that has a lot of meetings here, doesn't it? we don't want to give any more sovereignty, our personal liberty, our personal sovereignty, over to this

federal government. i drink they have enough. ny more sovereignty. see any more sovereignty to the u.n.. [cheering] we want to get back to what the other founders gave us in the first place. that is a gift. it is a gift that as we saw some years ago and mother from cuba to occur little five-year-old son, get on a little boat, get on and enter to, rated 90 miles of shore infested water for the privilege of coming to this great free country. we know what we have is precious, don't we? its precious. 233 years ago it was purchased for us so that we could stand here today and hold up don't tread on me flags.

that's our gift. [cheers and applause] that's our gift, freedom is our gift. but it's a gift that is sent free. and as we are coming to this wonderful time of the holiday season, whether you are celebrating the gift of flights with, cut or whether you're celebrating merry christmas, as our family will be celebrating in our home -- [cheers and applause] and by the way, this is a federal official wishing you a merry christmas! [cheers and applause] it's about coming to a time of peace come a time of reconciliation, and a time yes, that gives us the greatest freedom and peace of mind that anyone could possibly have. and so that's what we wish. that is our wish for our fellow citizens here in the united

states, for freedom, not for government enslavement. [cheers and applause] that is our wish. [applause] and so let's send a christmas card to harry reid. [cheers and applause] let's send a christmas card of peace on earth, good will to men. and so to do that, let's say to them do no harm. do no more harm to the constitution. do know more harm to our individual liberties, and do no more harm to america's health care system. we can do better than that. [cheers and applause] and so now -- and so now we have one of our shining stars who is about to come on to this stage. he truly has been at work labor

leader in the senate who has fought time and time again to get to the truth of the matter. this is a person who understands the health care system from the inside out as a physician, someone who has continued to practice medicine while he has served here in the united states senate. we owe this gentleman a great debt of gratitude. please help me welcome the champion of champions from the great state of oklahoma, dr. tom coburn. [cheers and applause] >> thank you all. let me first of all say -- in the mic. let me say thank you for taking the time out to be here. what our country lacks is our active involvement to return the

freedom that is rightfully ours back to a loss again. what our country lacks is the active involvement of the citizens of this country to return the freedom that is rightfully ours back to us again. the healthcare bill isn't about health care. the health care bill is about government control. the health care bill is about eliminating the liberty and freedom to choose what is best for you and your family. you know i've practiced medicine for over 25 years. i am a two-time cancer survivor and the best health care system in the world. [cheers and applause] and that does not mean that there are not problems with our health care system. but i will tell you the government runs 60% of healthcare in this country and they don't do a good job at any one of those levels. and this bill will move another

20% of health care under control of the government. if in fact you are here today because you want a future for your children and grandchildren, you want to restore the liberty that is rightfully yours that in fact if you want to make choices for you and your family that right of yours will be preserved please do more. please write more, have your friends to more. this bill must be stopped, not just for health care. we can fix health care where it's wrong. this bill must be stopped because we have a government that is sweet to big way outside the bounds of its intention and a government we cannot afford and this will make it worth $2.5 trillion over the next ten years. thank you for being here. may god bless you. [cheers and applause]

[chanting "kill the bill!"] >> -- the bill, you bet, you bet. [chanting "kill the bill!"] well, we wanted you to hear from another senator who doesn't mind just like tom coburn, doesn't mind delivering bad news to his fellow senators sometimes. don't we need senators like that? buys that will stand up and say no matter what the party thinks, no matter what the leadership wants, no matter what anyone wants we are going to do what's right. and that's what this next guy does, the great senator from this state of south carolina, jim demint. [cheers and applause] >> wow! thank you. [cheers and applause] blight we need some reinforcement. thanks for being here today. [cheers and applause]

it's great to gather not as republicans or democrats, but as americans who love our country, who cherish our freedoms and are willing to fight for it. thank you, folks, thanks for being willing to fight. you know, over a year ago, americans voted for a president who promised to cut taxes, cut spending, cut debt to stop -- [booing] -- stop earmarks. [booing] did he keep his promises? [booing] and did he promise to stimulus that would keep unemployment below 8%? now he is promising a health care bill that is going to cut costs and get more people into in short even though it isn't

true. [booing] we have got to do everything we can to stop this health care bill because if we stop this health care bill we can stop his takeover of the american economy, and we cannot fall for any more of these promises that he has not kept. [cheers and applause] thank you for making sure every senator has heard from you. unfortunately today all of the democrats are going to the white house not to hear from their constituents, not to read the constitution, not to keep a promise they've made back home, but to listen to a president who's telling them they can make history rather than save freedom [booing] we need to make sure when they walk out of that white house, that they hear from you.

[cheers and applause] folks, as senator coburn said, this health care bill is important, but it's not just about health care. it's not a government that's lost track of the constitution. it has no idea outbound balancing the budget. they are no longer fighting for the principles of liberty because they've forgotten what it is they are here for. my hope is that they will hear from you not only today, but this next november that all across the country americans will make their voices heard. [cheers and applause] that whether they are democrat or republican, if they are not standing up for our constitution for a balanced budget and principles of liberty that you don't send them here, that you send us people that believe as you do that this country is about freedom and and now is our time to fight for it. thank you for being here today. [cheers and applause]

>> do we have any north carolinian is here? [cheers and applause] the state directors is the next speaker is the best center in the country, richard byrne. [cheers and applause] >> welcome to washington, 60 miles surrounded by reality. [laughter] listen, i want to paraphrase -- >> put the mic down. spinnaker when to paraphrase franklin delano roosevelt -- [booing] [laughter] [inaudible] >> you only have one thing to fear, nancy pelosi and harry reid. [cheers and applause] what an unbelievable process over the last few weeks, a

display of true evidence, blatant disregard for what the american people want. ladies and gentlemen, we see you as the calvary. [cheers and applause] we see this movement around the country of the american people saying enough is enough. [cheers and applause] the reality is this isn't about health care and truly. it's really not about budgets. it's about power. and nancy pelosi and harry reid want all the power consolidated in this building. in this town, in their hands and not in your hands. [booing] this issue, healthcare, happens to be the opportunity for the american people to take power

back in their hands. to make sure every parent, that every parent in america has the opportunity for their children to inherit from them an opportunity to succeed. ladies and gentlemen if we continue to spend money, if we continue to borrow money, if we continue to run debt up in this country where our interest obligation outstrips capacity to pay for it we will export our children's opportunity to succeed. it is absolutely crucial that we stop it now. i truly believe the american people have spoken. they don't want bigger government. they don't want more spending and they don't want higher health care cost. but for christmas i also don't believe they want this bill.

[booing] i truly believe -- i believe the american people would take a lump of coal before they take this health care bill. thank you. god bless. [cheers and applause] >> we have one more senator we want you to hear from. she's from a place i used to call home, georgia. he's in his first term and has been one of the most conservative members of the united states senate. that's johnny isaacson from florida. [cheers and applause] >> thank you. before i came over here i walked out on the balcony over there and you want to know what? i could hear you loud and clear. [cheers and applause] >> [chanting "kill the bill!"]

yoay up there the founding fathers are looking down. this is what the bill of rights is@@@@ >> we will not be intimidated into a health-care program that does not work or higher taxes that will mortgage our children's future. we will not lead to our grandchildren a country that is unsustainable, on a portable, and in debt. this, too, can best but only if we stick together, only we speak out, only if our boys are

heard, only if we use the bill of rights which are left to us so we can be heard from one corner of america to the other. today, you are demonstrating that. your voices are being heard and we will together see this through to a conclusion which is to send health care back to the basement of the united states capitol. thank you very much. [applause] >> [chanting "kill the bill!"] >> all right. [chanting "kill the bill!"] you bet. [chanting "kill the bill!"] i want to ask you a question. how many of you are thankful for the tea party movements this year? [cheers and applause] i thought so. well, we have to of the national coordinators of the tea party patriots and their search close friends and allies of us and

you. we want them up here. is that all right? let's do that. mark, judy def martin, come on up, guys. [cheers and applause] >> i am continually amazed at you, the people, we the people. on september 12i was up there and i asked repeatedly throughout the day, congress can you hear us now! and the answer is yes, they can hear us. the thing is, they hear us they don't want to listen. [booing] so today, listen to me! listen to me! [chanting "kill the bill!"]

[chanting "listen to me!"] >> i don't know about you -- absolutely -- i don't know about you, but what we are hearing nationally in the tea party patriots, there are senators and staff who are playing games with you guys with the patriots around this country. they've taken their phones off the hook, the faxes, they can't even get through at 3:00 or 4 o'clock in the morning. we have one couple who went into their local centers office and talked to the staff. they asked why aren't the phone's ringing? i felt the phones were ringing and mighty party group was going to be calling today. we are not busy, that's the answer they got. so they go back to their car and you know what they found? they picked up the phone and dialed the local office, it was busy. there were no phone calls coming in but it was busy. that's the kind of games they

are playing. they don't want to listen. they want to ignore us and they think we are going to go away. >> no! >> we are not going away. they are counting on loss, they count on us to go away. they think it is ten days until christmas, next week is christmas, they won't pay attention, they will be too wrapped up in their families. i don't know about you but this health care bill, the increase the taxes, expansion of government, that is about my family, my children! [cheers and applause] so, guys, today what we are going to ask you to do, you are going to go back in there. you were here at the beginning in november and talk to your representatives. today, you are going to your senator's office, and this is the thing, go to your senators office, you have two of them come and stay there until the

senator talks to you. stay there. be a peaceful, be respectful, but let them know you traveled all of this weight on your own home -- own dime, and the need to listen before the vote on something this important. they need to listen to their constituents. that is what we are asking you to do today, thank you so much for being here. mark, do want to tell your story? [cheers and applause] >> thank you for being here. for months all of you have been making the phone calls and sending faxes and sending letters and visiting your local law officers and your representatives have in turn been telling you that you are nazis. they've been telling you that you are terrorists and you are the problem with america. are you the problem with america? >> no!

>> in america, government is not the solution, government is the problem. [cheers and applause] .. and we had some good experiences are doing into the office is sat, talked to some staffers. of course senators wouldn't see

us because we're just citizens. we're not important enough. now there are senators that were excellent and i would does obviously there are folks on our side and we appreciate them. another really important thing. we don't want people to believe that we dislike or distrust every politician. there are politicians who came on the stage today and we thank them for their service to this country. [cheers and applause] but we just had an incident over there that all of you need to know about. three of us, two of the national board of the tea party patriots and one of our constituents from california went to visit senator lieberman and we went and respectfully, just like we did every office over the senate office buildings. and we sat down and said we'd like to see the senator. they told us he was unavailable and we said that's okay, we'll wait. and we waited just like we did in some of the other senators offices about after three minutes staffer came out and said you're going to have to leave now. and we said this is a public office. do we really have to leave? they said you're going to have

to leave or we are going to have you arrested. [booing] what do you guys think american citizen threatened with arrest for visiting senator lieberman's office? [booing] your representatives threatening to arrest american citizens while bringing terrorists onto american soil. who are the terrorists, what senators are terrorizing the citizens and i encourage you -- we've got the sun filled beard were going to put it out on the internet. we want you telling your friends. [cheers and applause] we want you to know their time to stop her voice. god bless america and god bless this movement, go team america! [cheers and applause] >> i tell you what. we are going to bring her back up one more time. [cheers and applause] she's going to make a very

special introduction born of our guest of honor here today. michele bachmann! >> are we ready for the great lady that we've all come to see? [cheers and applause] we are rolling up her sleeves to hear from the freedom side! not only is she the most listened to female in talk radio, she's also "the new york times" bestseller author of what all of you are, their power to the people! [cheers and applause] phobos welcome. and not to mention she is drop dead gorgeous, and smart. laura ingram in mac [cheers and applause] >> hey everybody. how are you?

o. stop. [cheers and applause] >> were at! >> i'm here to talk to you about some of my favorite christmas stories. and i'll let you in on media back, every single one of you, all those cute little cameramen back there. i want you to listen up, get your hot chocolate coming or flask ready because i've a story to tell you. it's called how the democrats stole health care. [cheers and applause] we are all like little cindy lou who and the grinch who stole christmas. asking senator reid, why are you senator reid taking our health care choices and stepping them up the chimney? well, little girl, i'm going to

fix health care. it will be better than ever before and then i'm going to bring it back to you. okay, democrats. well well guess what? the grinch may have been able to fool cindy lou who, by senator reid and nancy pelosi can't fool us. [cheers and applause] and then i have some other stories to share with you. you've heard it and sure. it's called the abominable snow dog. harry reid is watching the video. this new system is going to improve health care, expand choices, lower cost. it's going to do none of this. that is the snow job and then my personal favorite, a year without a.

kathleen sibelius will be appearing in this christmas special as the house miser. but i am an optimist. i am a glass half-full person and i believe in the miracle on main street. [cheers and applause] because when we set our mind to something, we can do it. we can do anything and everything. we have been through much worse. after all, we survived jimmy carter. [cheers and applause] it doesn't matter how many slick press conference as the left has and their cronies in the democratic arty. it doesn't matter how much they vilify us. when it comes to standing up for our freedom and our basic rights, we will not be denied. we will not be silenced. [cheers and applause] and let me just tell you.

i don't know about all of you over there but i think about christmas and hanukkah and i think of the season as the christmas and hanukkah season of giving, right? all these people know how to do is take, take, and take. and let me tell you something, does anyone should get a lump of coal in their stocking this year, if senators reid, boxer, schumer, and now joe lieberman. [cheers and applause] and barney frank, that's just a given. let me just tell you something. they are noddy and we are nice. and we are voters who are making our list and checking it twice. we are gathered today to declare anew our independence.

and for the nice part the dinosaur media. they think you're a bunch of djs luke duke's who don't really know what time it is that you should be over in copenhagen with the real people. [laughter] that what we are declaring today, and now numbers and in our passion of so many of you are busy with christmas and all the things that come along with it, we are declaring our independence from a government with a terminator like determination to enlist every american as a lord of the stage. a government that only clear ideal is greater dependency and a sense of greater dependency on it. it's a government so practiced in protecting itself from democratic principles that this is the closest mankind has ever, to creating sound travels faster than light.

[laughter] today under this mask of health care reform, washington threatens its greatest infestation of our lives yet. indeed, when we think about what the@@@@@@@@@ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when we think about the declaration of independence, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men and drug their just powers from the consent of the governed. [applause] i am turning around and talking to congress. ladies and gentlemen of the congress, you know longer have our consent. [applause]

[chanting "kill the bill!"] and let me just say, without accountability, senator reid, senator boxer, and house speaker pelosi accountability to we the people, our government lacks legitimacy. [cheers and applause] since when does the right to abort babies trump the right to save a life lacks [cheers and applause] we are here today declaring independence from a government seeking to create a health secretary that according to the latest love, legislative examination is given almost 1700 new powers. [booing] the senate bill contains the

word secretary more than 2500 times and america's newly crowned helpdesk that will control one insurance can and cannot cover, how much plants can't and cannot cost, who can purchase well-planned and what services government plans to offer. [booing] i thought, i thought that we had loosened ourselves from the shackles of tyranny in our great revolution. unfortunately, the shackles have returned. [applause] at this point i would like all of us here to recognize and observe a moment of silence. for all of those children who will not be born, if in fact this travesty and its current form or some form approaching it is passed in the house of representatives. and for those elderly, many in

this crowd today who will be denied life-saving treatment because of a rationing board that exists in this current bill. i would like all of us to stop for just a few moments in a moment of silent prayer for all of those souls. >> have mercy upon us by god. >> silence. >> we are silent, we need to pray to the almighty god and ask him to remember us. >> today, we are declaring new independence and that's independence from a political class that blames rising health care costs for personal bankruptcies in the next is a plan that would force middle american families to spend upward, get this, a $15,000 annually on the mismanaged health care plan.

[booing] that is not taxation. that is plundering. that is larceny. that is stealing. did any of you consent to this? >> no! >> let's face it, if we allow washington to continue along this terrain ago march to the point where we need to check with the federal bureaucrats every time we want to take our sick kid to a doctor, we will lose the rights that our framers, our soldiers, our marines, our airmen, our coast guard, everyone in the u.s. navy spot so hard to preserve all these years. i don't wear a uniform, i don't wear a uniform, that with every last breath in this body of mine and with all of you and all the people across the country today who could not be here, we continue to stand vigilant. we must continue this work from the moment this rally ends to

the office is over there to the people who say they care about they care about the children in one breath and have no trouble spending taxpayers money to abort their babies and the next. that is the message we must send. and to all of these senior citizens here today, i say this. you work hard your entire life and you were promised that you would be cared for in this medicare system. those people who said they said with you are lying all along. they had to be if they vote for this. i am proud to stand with you today and i am saying and great respect closing with this, first they came for the rich and i did not speak out because i was not rich. and then they confiscated the property owners and i did not speak out because i did not own property. then, they took away our right to bear arms than i did not speak out because i was not armed. and then they came for me and

denied me my medical care. and there was no one left to speak out for me. and i couldn't because my medicare or better would treat my tonsillitis. i ask you what our founders would do at this moment. we know what they did. we know what they did. the media will continue to portray you as they always opportunity you. violins, uneducated, and intolerant and you don't care about people. i would imagine and just as we all got together in this crowd and added a, it money we give to charity without do that whole crowd over there. [cheers and applause] thanks everybody! [cheers and applause]

>> well, i don't know about you guys but let's make sure that harry reid and president obama are not the grinch who stole our health care this holiday season. what do you think? [cheers and applause] all right, we're finished with the speeches. now as grassroots activist lets make sure that we take our message across to her senate office is in a civil way and a way that says keep your hands off our health care. i urge you to do that and the senate officers are right this way. there is rebuilding thoreau. if you came here on americans for prosperity best and you want to take a petition we have about 300,000 petitions signed, hands off our health care for your state. you can feel free to come right behind the stage, but otherwise let's go make sure they hear from us. does that sound good? >> yeah! >> thank you offer coming and let's say this health care system we we have here.

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>> i am absolutely confident that if the american people know what is in this bill and did the senate knows what's in this bill that this is going to pass. >> work on the senate health care bill continues. follow every minute of the debate from the senate floor with late nights and possibly another weekend session, live on c-span 2, the only network to cover the entire debate with no commercials or commentary. get updates from the reporters and editors of the congressional roll-call group. also get the iphone app. >> conn independent senator joe lieberman yesterday defended his

opportunity -- his opposition to health care legislation. the measure was reportedly part of a compromise worked out between conservative and liberal democrats. senator lieberman is joined by a maine republican susan collins. this is 10 minutes. >> have you been moved by anything the democrats have proposed? >> this looks like it ronald reagan moment. >> have you been moved towards voting by anything the senator reid has proposed? >> as i said last night, we are having constructive discussions3 . it is not finished yet. we have learned in the last couple of weeks that we should

all be looking at paper. this legislative process and we should look at specific legislative language before agreeing or not. if, as appears to be happening, the so-called public option, a government-run insurance program is out and the medicare buy-in which i thought would jeopardize medicare and cost taxpayers billions of dollars over the long haul and increase our deficit is out and there are no other attempts to bring no otherhat in then i will be in a position where i can say what want to say all along which is that i am ready to vote for health care reform. my point iat president' laid out a couple of big goals for this plan.

he wants to bring a lot of people in who cannot afford health insurance now. the basic core bill does that. some of the other things would add to our debt, increase taxes, and were not necessary to achieve those goals. >> there are many insurance companies in your state. how much pressure had you been getting from them? >> i thought you said you're going to be reverent. i have not received any pressure from them. i have never hesitated to take on insurance companies. the reason i was against the public option is the same reason that many people are worried about the overall health care reform proposal which is that they think it is getting too big and they worry it will increase their taxes and

increase the national debt that their kids and grand kids will have to peg. pay. >> did you change your mind on the medicare by index >> i did not change my mind. -- >> did you change your mind on the medicare buy-in? >> i did not change my. >> i did nothen i was al gore ig mate, the party platform was to lower the age group for medicare. many things have changed in nine years. in 2000, the federal government was in surplus and paying off the debt not having increased the debt enormously. secondly, medicare was not on the verge of imminent bankruptcy which is now.

third, there was no bill on the floor that would extend very generous subsidies to the 55 and 65 years old to allow them to buy insurance and reduce the impact of age in the pricing of insurance policy spreaies. things have changed a lot about i finally got to see the "conn post"interview. though i was against the public option, i was not against health care reform. i did that before the finance committee bill came out with this very large and generous system of subsidies to bring a lower middle income people into the health insurance system. >> were their subsidies baked

into that? make sense. when advocates of the public option saw they did not have the votes for the public option, they tried to go down another path. it made no sense. incidentally, i am not the only person who oppose the medicare buy-in. you saw 11 other democratic senators wrote to every breed and they were against it because of the impact they thought it would have on hospitals and doctors in their state and by cost shifting on 180 million people in america who get the, r premiums would go up. this was unnecessary. the more they try to change it to get it through, nobody

between 55 and 65 would be able to afford this plan. they say that is not the point. they're trying to work at a deal. that does not make any sense to me because in the long term, the danger would be that the federal government would be pressured to take this over and make up deficits in this separate pool. it is not necessary. we have a great health insurance reform bill here. the danger was that some of my colleagues were trying to loaded up with too much. what happens then is that you run the risk of losing everything. what is beginning to emerge and some people are not happy about it is a historic achievement,

health care reform such as we have not seen in this country for decades. >> were you involved at all in the process in terms of supporting or not supporting this bill? >> first let me say that i am grateful for the work that senator lieberman has done. i believe that his principal stance has improved the bill. i would like to see a health- care bill that is based on loring costs, expanding access, helping small businesses pass. i do not see voting for the current bill that is on the floor even with the improvements that have been made. i am very leery of the impact of nearly $500 billion in medicare cuts, particularly the cuts in

home health care which are completely counter-protective of the goal of lowering costs. centrally britain and all i have amendments -- senator lieberman and i have amendments to lower the costs. we will see if they will be adopted. i am concerned about the penalties that will be imposed on smaller employers. this bill is getting better but it is still too deeply flawed for me to support it. >> you had a conversation with the leadership about your proposals? >> i have had some conversations but they have not given me an answer at this point. i should make clear that while i care deeply about the amendments and believe they make significant improvements in the bill, their adoption would not

be sufficient to persuade me to vote for the bill. i am still very concerned about the e enormous cuts in the medicare program and what that would mean to health care for our senior citizens. >> why vote for the mature enough for them? >> i think something will pass. i would like to make that bill as good as possible even if ultimately it is not a bill that i can support. i believe that i have an obligation to try and improve the bill not to just say "no." that is why i have been working on both sides of the aisle with colleagues on amendments that will improve the bill. i will continue to try to improve the bill. >> have you had any communication with the white house? >> i have had extensionve

discussions with the white house. they have been helpful and i appreciate the dialogue we are having. they certainly have not moved me to be able to support the bill at this point. thank you. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2009] >> now president obamas remarks to on health care from yesterday. he praised senate democrats for their efforts to reach a deal on the health care bill. he was joined by the senate democratic leaders of the white house. this is about 10 minutes. >> hello everybody. we just had a very productive session about the final stages of health care reform in the senate. from the discussions we had, it

is clear we are on the process of achievement that has deluded congress and presidents for generations, an achievement that will touch the lives of nearly every american. there are still some differences that have to be worked out. this was not a roll call. this was a broad based discussion about how we move forward. whatever differences remain, there is broad consensus around reforms that will finally protect every american from practices and health insurance industry. no longer will these companies be able to deny you coverage if you have a pre-existing illness or condition. no longer will they be able to drop you from coverage when you get sick. no longer we have to pay unlimited amounts out of your own pocket for the treatment you need. we are all in agreement on those reforms. we agree on reforms that will funnel reduce the cost of health care. families will save on their

premiums, businesses that will see their costs rise if we do nothing, will save money now and in the future. this plan will strengthen medicare and extend the life of that program. because it gets rid of the waste and inefficiencies in our healthcare system, this will be the largest deficit-reduction plan in over a decade. i want to repeat this because there's so much misinformation about the cost issue. you talk to every health-care economist out there and they will tell you that whatever ideas exist in terms of bending the cost curve and starting to reduce costs for families, businesses, and government, those elements are in this bill. in terms of deficits because we keep hearing these ads about how this will add to the deficit, the cbo has said that this is a deficit-reduction not a deficit increase.

all the scare tactics out there, all the ads out there are inaccurate. some of the same people who cited the cbo when they said it did not reduce the deficit, they say they are now the most credible are biter of -- arbiter and are now ignoring them. finally, we agree on reforms that will make coverage affordable for 30 million americans who don't have coverage. every day that goes by, another 14,000 americans lose their health care coverage a recent study shows that in the next decade, half of all americans under the age of 65 will be without coverage at some point. if this reform passes, when it passes, for the very first time in their lives, these americans will be able to provide health insurance for their families. those americans who are already covered will no longer have to

live in the fear that their family might fall through the cracks of the system we have now. these are not small changes. these are big changes. they represent the most significant reform of our healthcare system since the passage of medicare. they will save money. they will save family's money, businesses money, and they will save government money. they will save lives. that is why this reform is supported by groups like the aarp, who represent most of america's seniors. that is what this report has to pass on our watch. let's be clear -- the final bill will not include everything that everybody wants. no bill can do that. what i told my former colleagues today is that we simply cannot allow differences over individual elements of this plan to prevent us from meeting our responsibility to solve the long

standing and urgent problem for the american people. they are waiting for us to act. they are counting on us to show leadership. i do not intend to let him down and neither do the people standing next to me. there is too much at stake for families who cannot pay their medical bills, see a doctor when they need to, or get the treatment they need. the stakes are enormous for them. the stakes are enormous for business says. es who are already seeing their premiums go up to let least 30%. many critics of this process fail to note what happens if nothing gets done for the american people have to be very clear about this. if we do not get this done, your premiums are guaranteed to go up. if this does not get done, more employers will drop coverage because they cannot afford it. if this does not get done, it is

guarantee that medicare and medicaid will blow a hole for our budget. -- through our budget. those things are guaranteed that is the status quo. that is the trajectory we are currently on. i do not intend to have that happen. i believe that the senate does not intend to have that happen. i think any fair reading of this bill will indicate that all the criteria that i laid out when i met before a joint session have now been met. it is deficit-neutral. it bends the cost curve. it covers 30 million americans who do not have health insurance. it has extraordinary insurance reforms in there that make sure we are preventing abuse. by the way, it also does things that tom harkin has been an

advocate for four years years. this will save us money and reduce pressures on emergency rooms across the country, preventative care. there are still disagreements that have to be ironed out t. there is still work and has done the next few days. it is important for every single member of the senate to take a careful look at what is in the bill. we welcome the scrutiny from the press. recently, there was an article that talks about all the cost savings and how important they will be in terms of bending the cost curve over the long term dair. if the american people know what is in this bill and if the senate knows what's in this

bill, this is going to pass. it is right for america. i am appealing cautiously optimisticet work and improving the lives of the american people. thank you, everybody. thank you so much. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2009] >> cspan 3 has live coverage of two congressional hearings today. the first looks into illegal

sports broadcast on the internet. the house judiciary committee begins at 10:30 a.m. eastern time. at 2:00 p.m., a subcommittee hearing on the release of sensitive government documents. the head of the transportation security administration will testify about an incident where tsa officials put procedure manuals on the internet. that is live on c-span 3. you can also watch the hearings live or anytime on our website, c-span.org. coming up next on c-span, "washington journal," live with your phone calls. after that, the house of representatives who will work on the spending bill.