senate. when tom daschle was up for confirmation as secretary of h.h.s., he said we should aim for 70 or 80 votes. 60 votes is the minimum, not 51. my colleagues are here to speak. i appreciate it for them to be here. we're trying to follow in the tradition we saw yesterday when former senate majority leaders, democrats and republicans, joined together to put forward a bill that covers every men and that is affordable. why don't i turn it over to mike castle from delaware. >> i agree with jim completely on the legality of the situation in the senate. i think they are going to need 60 votes. that means it is going to have to be a bipartisan piece of legislation. but that is exactly what the american people want. you often hear that disease does not choose whether you're a republican or a democrat and i think the solution to this does not choose either. we need to work together hard on getting this done.