environment for federal employees. furthermore, this should not be described as an over-generous or excessive fringe benefit, but rather as a necessary ben kit to help -- benefice to help strengthen american families and promote the healthy development of our children. we need to recognize that the federal government is the largest employer in the united states and its policies in this area do set a tone for the country. no employee should have to choose between caring for a newborn child or their paycheck. this is especially true in an economic downturn. therefore, madam speaker, i'd like to once again reiterate my support for h.r. 626, the federal employee paid parental leave act of 2009, and i urge my colleagues to join me in voting in favor of this measure and i continue to reserve the balance of our time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserve -- the chair: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from california. mr. issa: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr.

older employees differently. plfer, the amendment is not good policy because employees should not be forced to use uh up their accrued annual sick leave to care for a new child this can leave employees in a desperate situation if any emergency arises or if they become seriously ill down the road. this amendment is somewhat shortsighted, it ignores the strategic invest thament h.r. 626 makes in the federal work force at a time we need to be attracted young, talented employees to prepare far wave of upcoming retirements. currently we have about 315,000 federal employees that are eligible to retire. unfortunately, those are the most experienced and in some cases the most ablest employees we have in the federal government. so this bill -- this amendment ignores the social benefits to society as a whole that result from supporting families with progressive work life policy such as a paid parental leave program. because it guts the pending legislation, i have to oppose it for all the reasons i have stated, in spite of

whether or not an employee takes paid leave, the paid for -- pay for that employee has been included in the salary budget for that agency. the only cost associated with the bill is the amounthat agencies currently save when employees who have a new child take their 12 weeks of unpaid leave, and the $140 million for four weeks of paid leave in the congressional budget office score is what federal agencies currently save when employees take unpaid leave. paid leave can also offset costs by boosting employee morale and productivity while reducing turnover. turnover is costly. it costs 20% of an employee's salary to hire and train a new worker, compared to just 8% to provide skilled, experienced employee with four weeks of paid parental leave. the military already provides paid leave. new mothers are provided not with four week, but six weeks of paid leave and fathers are given 10 days. this puts the civilian branch -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. mrs. maloney: this bill puts the civilian branch on par with the military. it's already been pointed out that a larg

there are great federal employees. immaterial to keep them. and many of them are incredibly dedicated public servants. but look at the annual leave of the federal government versus the annual leave on average in the private sector, and federal workers are already receiving a better deal, look at the annual sick leave of federal government compared to the average sick leave in the private sector. the federal government workers are already receiving a better deal. look at the family medical leave. you can see that federal government workers already receive on average a better deal than those in the private sector. so again, when they're enjoying on average greater benefits, enjoying greater job security, what a slap in the face of every worker in america who doesn't receive a government paycheck to say that all of a sud, they're going to have to pay for a -- all of a sudden, they're going to have to pay for a new benefit for federal workers. this is on top of the fact that the federal government is already having to borr

the explosion killed three employees and injured at least 38 others. three of the responding firefighters were also treated for chemical inhalation. we wish we could turn back the hands of time and prevent this terrible tragedy. unfortunately, we can't. instead, we need to do all we can to understand the cause of the explosion so we can minimize the risk of explosions like it. this past weekend the response team announced 9 explosion was -- the explosion was called by natural gas. the occupational safety and health administration and the u.s. chemical and safety board along with others will continue with the investigation. we express our deepest condolences to the families, friends and loved ones of the victims of this tragedy. we honor three employees who lost their lives in the explosion, barbara mclean spears of dunn, north carolina, louis junior watson of clayton, north carolina, rachel mae poston pulley of clayton, north carolina. and we also honor those who suffered injuries. and finally we commend the heroic actions of the first responders. the

that is not something by employees deserve. our polling confirms the health cost to small business owners's number one concern, on average, more than 18% more for health-care coverage than big businesses. the economic study we released earlier this month based on research by jonathan gruber found that without reform, health care will cost small-businesses $2.4 trillion over the next 10 years. we are pleased to see the house bill addresses key cost containment measures such as expanded use of transparency, prevention and chronic disease management. our polling shows that the key to controlling costs in the market place where there's healthy competition, there must be an insurance exchange from the robust. the national insurance marketplace, to national rules. there are standardized benefit packages, without regard to treat existing conditions or health status. and marketplace transparency. a balanced set of reforms will require everyone to participate. 66% of business owners in recent poll in 16 states, releasing preliminary dat

many of our federal employees wear a uniform and sacrifice in the battlefield. others work in civilian jobs but still make great sacrifices by working long hours and foregoing opportunities in the private sector, such as substantially better pay and bonuses. their bonus, as i've said before, is the satisfaction of having served their country. today i wish to speak about a man who risked his life during wartime and then spent nearly decades working as a civilian engineer for the u.s. army pheufpl command. joe cononton, a native of tuscaloosa, alabama served as a navigator, bomb dear on 47 missions in the european and pacific theaters. joe was decorated with three medals and four battle stars. hisnit received an award for support provided the french expeditionary force in italy. after returning home joe took advantage of the g.i. bill to pursue a bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering from the university of alabama. he began working for the university army missile command in huntsville in the late 1950's. for 27 years joe worked for the army missile co

the business has nine employees and has health care benefits covering 60% of each employee's premium. but not that of their dependents. ann said that she is happy with the availablity in colorado. she and her husband built in the cost of health care when they began their business because she knew it would help attract the best employees. ann said that she understands how important a healthy workforce is and supports wellness programs so that employees can prevent major medical conditions. whenever she brings someone in, she knows the first question asked c will be: do you have a health care plan? the business has been forced to offer less and less coverage to keep the premiums within its budget. health care is one of the biggest ticket items they worry about. she said that the percent increase over the previous year has been in the double digits. as a result they've had to offer less coverage with higher deductibles and more out-of-pocket cost. the plan's deductible has gone from $1,500 to $3,000. ann said that they will likely have to take a $5,000 deductible. she knows how much it c

i will ask my employees to go when. the boss can take the cadillac plan and kick the other employees out. -- the boss cannot take the cadillac plan and to the other employees out. small businesses like to do this for their employees. the can afford it and hopefully and this plan will be able to. >> you said your own experience with your own illness the sheer luck she see the health industry up close and personal. what did you learn? >> i learned that john hopkins hospital is one of the preeminent medical delivery systems and the country. i had a bout with ammonia that kept me in the hospital couple of weeks. -- a bout with pneumonia and hospital for a couple weeks. probably cost lacrosse of part of $100,000 and i think them very much. -- it probably cost of lacrosse $100,000 and i thank him very much. had i not had my federal employees plan, i would have been treated quite a bit different. what i am hoping is that we can have centers of excellence like that around the country and you want to be a members -- a member of

employees. and what we want to create is a system where everyone in america will be be covered and every business that chooses to do s will be able to afford to offer that benefit to their employees and to their potential employees to be able to recruit and retain the highest quality worker that might be a benefit that small businesses would like to offer. we want to give them the opportunity to afford that benefit if they so choose. but again we want to preserve what's working in our current system. we want those who have coverage and like it to not be touched in this. and that has to be a part of this. but for those that want to have another option, those who want to make a change, maybe the family status has changed over time, the plan that you're in doesn't work for you anymore, we want to give them as many options as possible and we want to give them the ability as the gentleman indicates to do some comparison shopping. to compare apples to apples. to look at what the costs are for the fami

or i'm going to ask my employees to go in but then employees have to go in. if the boss can't take the cadillac -- the boss can't take the cadillac coverage and kick the employees out. but i think you find this among small businesses, they'd like to do it for their employees and can't afford it. hopefully under this plan you'll be able to. >> you had your own experience with illness earlier this year, seeing health care up close and personal, what did you see and what did you learn? >> i learned that johns hopkins hospital is one of the preeminent medical delivery systems in the country, i had a bout with pneumonia, which kept me in the hospital a couple of weeks, cost blue cross insurance company probably north of $100,000, which they paid for, thank them very much. and that the system works. i was relatively assured by hopkins that had i not had my federal employees blue cross plan, i would have been treated about the same system of what i'm hoping is that we can have centers of excellence like that around the country and you won't have to be a member of co

now every once in a while an employee will come to my office and say, you know, i'm an employee of xyzcompany, they just filed bankruptcy. they owe me two weeks worth of wages. i say well, let's file a claim. i hope you don't need that money to buy groceries because i don't think you're going to see it. and i was always right. describe the rights of the employees like you've described for me the rights of dealers, the rights of shareholders in just a regular bankruptcy. >> the treatment of employees in regular bankruptcy varies all over the lot. largely because the entity trying to reorganize, say, 363 sale going on in the case of general motors. the entity providing, being the sponsor of the new entity is going to make determinations about what the proper treatment is for employees. and in the case of general motor, the decision was by the management that keeping both salaried and hourly workers working and on the payroll was an important part of maintaining the continuity of the business and having a successful enterprise going forward. so the determination was made to continue to pa

firstly, all of the commission staff are federal employees.some more detail from agencies and services including the army, the air force department of state and defense, u.s. agency for international development, the defense contract management, the defense contract audit agency and the u.s. army corps of engineers. some have served one or more tours and duty in theater including working for the special inspector general for iraq, reconstruction oris senior contracts in officers supporting the joined contract in command in afghanistan. others that served in congressional staff work, gao the fence and important positions in the commercial industries which are the focus of our study. they bring hundreds of years of combined experience and education in many fields to bear on their mission and a performed a valuable work for their country. in conclusion the commission and staff of the commission on wartime contract and in iraq and afghanistan take very seriously the tasks that congress has assigned to us. we appreciate how important these tests ar

the person who actually is there, the employee of t.s.a. who is there when you go through this machine is not the one who reads the picture. that person, he or she, is another room, isolated, they never see you. they actually talk to them by way of radio. so this idea that somebody is sitting in this little room waiting to see what you look like frankly is sort of overblown. and all i can say is this. i have been through many, many patdowns because i happen to have an artificial hip. going through this at national -- reagan national airport was so much quicker, so less intrucive, so less intrucive of my privacy than what we go through now. and for us to sit here now and pass an amendment which is going to stop this development and application frankly i think is misguided. and with all due respect to the gentleman from utah, who i know is sincere about that, and the gentlelady who is also sincere, i would ask you to rethink this. from my experience this is far more protective of my privacy than what i have to go through every time i have to

judge kent sexually assaulted two employees of the court.he corruptly obstructed, influenceed an official proceeding by making false statements to the fifth circuit and making false and material statements to the agents of f.b.i. and department of justice. these acts of sexual assault and obstruction of justicer as the judge who sentenced judge kent stated, a stain on the justice itself. with the house of representatives to sit by and let the judge sit in prison while holding the office, it would be a stain on the congress as well. judge kent conduct was a disgrace to the bench, that he would still cling to the bench from the confines of his prison cell and asked the public whose trust he has already betrayed to continue paying his salary demonstrate how little regard he has for the institution he was supposed to serve. i urge the house to approve each of the four articles of impeachment set out in house resolution 520. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california yields back. the gentleman from michigan reserves

we have 33 total employees who are full-time each month. the " i have been given have been for our full-time employees -- the wuquotes that i got in 2006 were unaffordable for us at the time. we were left offering a small stipend to employees who decided to purchase health insurance on their own to help them out a little bit. most of them could not afford coverage. there are only three people who are purchasing their own health insurance. my father has retiree coverage from working at john deere, and i have coverage through my husband. we are not worried about our personal health insurance, but most of our employees are not in that position. we have a husband and wife team, and other people who are like family members. we really want to be responsive to them and for them and be able to provide them with coverage. my brother who was to come back and held as a family and two small children and cannot afford to go without health care. a decision that should be easy to come back and help run the family business and the legacy is becoming compli

and these are employees just like there are employees in the detroit, they are the heart and soul of so many communities in the state so we would like to see some fairness injected into this process. obviously it is your decision to make but when we're talking about taxpayer dollars we're talking about this difficult time. and families in these difficult times. thank you, very much. >> as we always do, we understand. and next will be senator yo hans. >> i really appreciate you conducting this hearing. and it's good to see you back. here's the problem. as i see it, i think everybody has spoken very eloquently about the difficulties that this has caused back home. and we're all getting the phone calls and letters. i've got bullet points from one of your dealers at chrysler talking about the jobs that are going to be lost, explaining to me how they don't feel they are costing chrysler anything. how fair they feel it was, how unfair they feel it was to have so little time after being a part of the organization for so long. but here's the problem, the deal is done. i never would have beli

i do not provide health care to my employees. when my employees get in a motorcycle at them. i had a good the emergency room. who pays for bill? >> it depends on whether they had private coverage. >> let's assume she is one of the uninsured. >> it to the uncompensated care. >> who pays for uncompensated care? >> taxpayers. all this that have private insurance. >> you at the retail store owner that doesn't sure your employees, you are picking of the cost for me does not? >> absolutely. >> this plan would obsolete take into account that economic issue where we are leveling the playing field. there are taxes imposed at the state and local level? >> absolutely. >> what would happen to those local taxes it this draft were enacted in people but health insurance? >> we absolutely expect that unaccommodated care would go down. the burden would go down. >> let me ask another question. how many jobs do you think it would cost us to do nothing? i know the other side is they do not want to say that we are doing nothing. that is odd, since everyone is in favor doing something, but nothing

the helps the employee. nobody wants to get a heart attack or get sick. and so this bill -- it looks like stops you from doing that. we really ought to be looking at it the other way. we need to change behavior in a positive way. >> thank you, mr. chairman. and thanks to the witnesses. great questions all around. i think the idea of personal opportunity is really important and i agree with my colleague, congresswoman morris rogers on that. i think we can all agree on that. obviously, i think we have to do all we can to promote personal responsibility and when it comes to wellness i think that's absolutely critical. there's no doubt about it. there's a lot to like, i think, about this bill. certainly, i think wellness is a part of it. an important part of it. health i.t. is important as well was mentioned. i think a public plan option is the way to go and i'll ask dr. hacker about that in a second, dealing with catastrophic costs clearly that's something we have to deal with it, there's no doubt about it. and i could go on and on. i do want to pick up on t

employees have no rights. describe the rights of the employees like you have described for me the rights of dealers, the rights of shareholders, in just a regular bankruptcy. >> the treatment of employees in regular bankruptcy varies all over the lot, largely because the entity trying to reorganize, if it is a 363 sale which is going on in the case of general motors, the entity providing, being the sponsor of the new entity, will make determinations about what the proper treatment is for employees. in the case of general motors, the decision was by the management, that keeping both salaried and hourly workers working and on the payroll was an important part of maintaining the continuity of the business and having a successful enterprise going forward. the determination was made to continue to pay wages, as i indicated for warranty holders. these are business judgments made by companies and bankruptcies all the time and i have been involved where employees did receive continuity of wages. i have been in bankrup

these 240,000 plus contractor employees actually outnumber u.s. military personnel in the two feeders. they provide critical support and like our military personnel many have paid a personal price for gold as of may 27, 2009, 4,973 men and women of america's military and at least 13 civilian employees of the department of defense had died in iraq and afghanistan. it is less well known that more than 1360 contractor employees have also died. criticisms of the contingency contacting system suggested for reform in no way diminish the sacrifice of the military and those contractors that gave their lives. in discussing the major subject areas and at what cost will specifically address several issues of immediate concern, such issues matter now, right now. there-- they are so important that the commission is urging corrective action well ahead of our final report. first, management and accountability. the report's first chapter in management and accountability addresses a number of crosscutting themes. the linchpin of contingency contract in its human c

employee taxes and so forth. thanks for the great topic. >> thank you all, rick, i want you as my lawyer. good response. georgia. bob on the republican line. >> hi. my question is that if you sell an item for $100 and i as a small business person in my area sell it. you charge hundred dollars on the credit card. i charge 107 dollars. you have a 7 dollar advantage over me in prices. >> yes. >> that's my question. where do you say that's fair? >> well, that 7 dollars is you're paying as your paying state in return for the services your taking from the state. you've got a store front that's police protected road and roads your employees are driving on. employees with children in school so you're getting all these services from the local state. i would say those are income prabl or greater by the services like giving a package to fedex delivering to a customer down the street from you. a tax isn't just some mandate from god. the price is the name of why the government charges you for it's services. well, your demandi

some kind ofç landing brown and these are employees just like there are employees in detroit.mmunities in our state. so what we would like to see is some fairness intended into this process. obviously it is your decision to make but when talking about taxpayer dollars, talking about families in a difficult economic time we would like whatever fairness we can find to be injected into this process and that's why we're here today. thank you very much.ç >> next would be senator johannç >> mr. chairman, thank you very much, i appreciate you conducting this hearing and it is good to see you back. inbox -- here is the problem as i see it. i think everybody has spoken very eloquently about the difficulties of this has caused back, and we are all in getting the phone calls and letters. i got a bullet points from one of your dealers at chrysler talking about the jobs that are going to be lost, how unfair the to was two have so little time after being part of the organization for so long. but here's the problem -- the deal is done. i never would have believed as a candidate for the unit

i want to mention of my employees. over the year carlyle has numerous employees and have worked for my family for 35 to 50 years. time doesn't permit me to do them justice. my point is carlyle has had an currently has the best people in the industry. i would like to mention to the committee the human element of these actions by gm and chrysler, nearly 90 souls depend on the carlyle for their assistance and with our closing these people will be subjected to serious economic hardship. i had numerous offers to sell my business and i have had that right taken away. i family will be left with a single person facility with no tenant. this is senseless. my grandfather pay for carlyle chevrolet from his labors, my father paid my grandmother for carlyle chevrolet to his efforts, it took me nearly 20 years to pay my parents for carlyle chevrolet committed to gm and chrysler a mere 24 hours to take carlisle chevrolet from maine. this makes no sense. why is this happening? gm and chrysler have stated publicly they have not used th

>> i don't think it's right and i think it will impact employees. normally the principal is, if your conducting legitimate business expense or that you, that you're not taxed on that. if your you know, flying across country and in a jet and you've got an commercial jet, you're not getting taxed on expenses your incurring in the line of doing your business. so it as very strange time in tax to me. >> north carolina, bernard on democrat line. >> how you doing? i got a simple question. i don't have a lot of sympathy as far as being taxed because the way i look ate. you don't care how many items you get from china but still you complain about getting taxd for revenues. the states need revenue but i don't see you guys trying to put emphasis on buying american. especially over stock.com people. your bulk people. that's my opinion. i'm sorry. >> okay. any response? >> well, okay. we buy american. we try to get the best price and we buy all over america but it's up to what you the consumers are going to buy. do you want to buy this table american made versi

the dol's employee benefits security administration is a key enforcement agent. as of may of this year they initiated some 768 civil and 207 criminal investigations obtaining monetary penalties over $200 million. they currently have 73 civil and 60 criminal investigations open. criminal activities are often organized crime prices, result in employers and individuals losing millions of dollars a year and going without health insurance. one final point if we have time, i'll go through some of the provisions quickly. the question of erisa and are we eroding protections and provisions in erisa. some have express ted concerns about that and are worried about eroding the essential structure of erisa. nothing, if you review this carefully, nothing could be further from the truth. these provisions in no way undermine the functions of erisa and self-insured employers and in no way allow states to undermine erisa preemption. what we do is give the department of labor and state insurance commissioners badly needed authority to stop criminal enterprises. let me just go throu

, promoting employee retention, providing retirement security to employees, and allowing the firm's cost base to move along with its revenues. it is clear, however, that compensation arrangements can also provide executives and employees with incentives to take executive of excessive risks that are not consistent with a long term health of the organization. business alignment of incentives can occur at all levels of a firm and is not limited to senior executives. in addition, incentives built on producing sizable amount of short-term revenue or profit can encourage employees to take substantial short or long term risks beyond the ability of the firm to manage, just so the employees can increase their own compensation. risk management controls and frameworks have proved incapable of acting as a brake on excessive risk taking, where compensation programs have created overly strong incentives to take risk. these and other weaknesses in the ways that firms have thought about and implemented complement programs, have become apparent during this period of economic stress. as a result many fina

i want to thank senator cochran for his statements about federal employees on june 11. i want by those who work in the federal government. mr. president, last week i shared the story of a federal employee who spent his career working at redstone arsenal in alabama. he designed and tested the advanced missile system to defend our military overseas. this week i wish to share the story after federal employee who works to advance our interest overseas, that of a humanitarian good works. both are vital to our global leadership. i spoken before about the groundbreaking research performed by our federal employees at the national inuse it of health. it helps to keep america health care the most innovative in the world. yet making breakthroughs and developing treatments is one part of how the federal government is helping promote global health. one of our foreign policies humanitarian priorities is to expand access to new medications and health technologies among those who live in the developing world. the hard-working men and women of the centers for disease control and prevent

but then, he said to his employees, okay, this is all voluntary. i want to get you all into a smoking cessation program. and i may be a little off here. i can't remember it. but like if you sign up with our less absenteeism. he runs two shifts a day, two eight-hour shifts. it used to be that, boy, when the first shift finished for the last half hour you didn't get any work. people rushing for the doors. now he said people hang around. they take care of their equipment. they are more condeucive to working longer. a lot of times their families will come over and use the gym so they stay there and work a little bit longer. so he just found his productivity shot through the roof on this kind of a thing. so when you talk about incentives, premium reductions, yes. might be a part of it, but there are a lot of other incentives out there. and finance committee, hopefully will have that -- well, i'm sure they're going to have their provision in there. so there are other incentives besides preme amy reductions. >> can we vote on harkin 4? >> a voice vote. >>

shiller and all federal employees who distinguish themselves in the service of our nation. madam president, i would like to speak on reforming our health care system. simply put: health care reform has been delayed for far too long and it cannot wait any longer. most americans are satisfied with the health care they receive. let me repeat this: most americans are satisfied with the health care they receive today. but if we want to sustain and improve the quality of health care we need to act now. what their concerned about is what the future health care will be about. and also concerned about the cost of health care. we must get health care costs under control while preserving choice. if we do nothing, and allow the status quo to persist it is estimated that the share of gross domestic product devoted to health care will rice from 18% in 2009 to 28% in 2030. if health care premiums continue to rise at 4% per year, which is actually less than the historical average, that by 2025, premiums for family coverage will reach $25,200 per year, over 2,000 a month! this is simply uns

and the president signs a bill extending benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees. >> how is c-span funded? >> i have no clue. >> and be some government grants. >> i would say donations. >> public money. >> how is deceased been funded? 30 years ago, america's cable companies started c-span with no government money. >> the secretary of state clinton met with her israeli counterparts to discuss the middle east peace process. after the meeting, they talked to reporters for 15 minutes -- for 50 minutes. -- 15 minutes. >> our commitment to israel's security will remain a cornerstone of our policy. i am pleased to have that chance to express the personally to te foreign minister. united states has no better ally in the middle east or friend and in israel. we are looking forward to continue that dialogue in the u.s.-israel strategic dialogue. we exchanged views in the middle east regarding iran. they need to comply with obligations to the security council. we look forward to iran in response to our engagement. we want to bring about a concrete -- a comprehensive peace to israel and

federal employees at all levels get to work on exciting and relevant projects every day. after his superb performance in due buy, brian was given

, more productive employees, that could actually bring down the cost of health care for their employees as well as their own costs as well. so, safeway is just one example of many, i think, successful innovations across this country where people are encouraged to do the right thing for themselves and for their employers and for their families. and i think these are the kinds of things that ought to guide us as we debate health care reform during the coming weeks. but, madam president, i believe that this legislation fills a necessary gap in f.d.a.'s regulatory authority, an agency that regulates everything from dog food to prescription drugs to medical devices. the only reason tobacco is left out of it is because of the political clout of tobacco years ago. and this legislation fills that gap and, i think, presents the most pragmatic approach to try to deal with the scourge of underage smoking and marketing to children as well as informing consumers what have they need to know in order to make smart choice force their own health and for the health of their family. madam president, i yie

improperly designed compensation programs may inside a wide range of employee behavior.you also say we should adjust compensation so employees bear some of the risk associated with their activities and employees looks likely to take an important risk incentive payments are reduced or limited. i agree. how does that occur and the fed right now with the activities the employees take that have their risk not only on themselves the the entire economy? or they can do anything they want without any risk? >> there is no one at the fed that can do anything they want without taking risks. >> as far as their compensation. >> no, no, no as far as their actions as well. so, there is a performance, at the federal reserve there is a tie between performance and pay. we are of braded on their performance and we all have adjustments to were paid based on our performance. we are not paid with bonuses in the way the industry is we are talking about here today though. >> for all the panel, looking at their proposals coming to this administration that the chairman is talking about, someone s

you properly designed compensation programs man inside a wide range of employee behavior. you also say we shouldn't just compensation so that employees bear some of the risk associated with activities and employees less likely to take a prudent risk extend payments reduced or eliminated per activity ends up higher than expected losses. i agree. how does that occur in the fed right now with the activities the employees take that have a risk not only on themselves but the entire economy? >> or they can do anything they want without any risk? >> there is no one that can do without taking risks and we have oversight committees. >> as far as their compensation? >> mel, as far as their actions as well. >> okay. >> other is a performance at the federal reserve a tie between performance and pay. we are all rated on our performance and we all have adjustments to our pay based on our performance. we aren't paid with bonuses in the way that the industry is we're talking about today go. >> right. for all the panel, looking at the proposal going to this administration, say on pay the c

two million federal employees, eight million employees and their families, we have the federal health benefits program and we have an open enrollment each year to pick, in my case from nine different health insurance plans available to me in my home state of illinois for my wife and myself. that is a luxury most people can only dream of. all federal employees have it and so do members of congress because we're considered federal employees for this. but it is something that most americans don't have and we can really make available to small and large businesses alike. it's important that we do this. and i hope that we can get some support -- some support from the other side of the aisle. today in america while we're going about our business, 14,000 americans will wake up and realize something, yesterday they had health insurance and today they doesn't. every day in america 14,000 americans lose their health insurance. i can't imagine what life is like without health insurance. there was a a time in my life i didn't have it, it was scary. brand-new, married, father, baby on the way, and

to create a workplace that does not allow the safety and security of your employee and in particular the witness, a and b, that poses a serious problem. i'm making sure we track the constitutional road map we are now in and that we are aware of the fact that we can track the constitutional provisions and in essence say that this judge is not of good behavior. he now sits incarcerated. he has been convicted of a felony. the felony is an obstruction of justice and he did it knowingly. i'd like a moment to just say that in the proceeding where he had to proceed with his plea, the court specifically said you have the right to persist in a prior plea of not guilty that you have entered in this case. in that event, the burden is entirely upon this government to prove your guilt. you don't have to go forward with this. and therefore to the jury's satisfaction with proof beyond a reasonable doubt, which is a very high standard of proof, and under the law and the constitution, to the judge who was standing there, you are presumed innocent which means you do not have to prove your innocence to

yet we don't let individual do that we don't let a small business with only 20 employees do this. that wall placed by insurance companies and by the government leads to higher costs. we ought to allow business to do the same thing the federal government does and use that as a mechanism to drive down costs substantially. mr. kent: -- mr. kirk: one thing you mentioned is the need for public health. that puts forward a critical point missing in the debate. we know of the uninsured, 44.7 million, of the uninsured, 14.7 million are already eligible for public coverage. as we have found -- mr. dent: that's medicaid and schip. mr. kirk: that's right. as we found in the state of massachusetts, when a mandate that everyone has to buy health insurance is put forward, what they have generally found is that a technical and legal solution is not adequate. they thought by putting a health insurance signup machine at the entrance of every emergency room at the state would register and collect the required number of people who hadn't yet signed up for public assistance that they were eligible for

it worked for a small business and the employer has 10 employees they cannot afford.definitely, we want to bring everybody into the system. that will lower costs and young, healthy people will be in the system, too. the goal is to lower your costs and the cost for all americans. host: linda debose is from the white house office for a care reform. there is a tweed saying, ms. douglas, why does this radical plan have to be implemented during a recession? it will only add to inflationary pressures. guest: i would certainly quibble with the word "radical," but one of the reasons that we're doing this is because we are struggling in our countries. this is -- in our country. this is squeezing our businesses and making it difficult for them to compete globally and to compete with businesses that do not provide health insurance because they cannot afford those costs. they cannot hire more workers. one of the reasons we're having a difficult time digging out of this economic trouble that we are in right now is because there is the way, the burden of these high health care cost

coverage in. >> can you require an employee to accept it? i don't know, again, thousand provisions are drafted. i'm not aware of any mandatory in a private insurance market, how you mandate that anyone accept a plan. but i haven't read the outline of the bill, sorry. >> do you know if these provisions, are states and federal governments considered employees under this draft? >> state and federal government? >> mr. walden can i just -- >> i'm not trying to stop you, but, i mean, it's the draft -- discussion draft is put together by the members and i don't know that she can necessarily be the person to comment on what's in it. but i mean, if you want to continue -- >> well, yeah, we are on my time near. >> i'll give you extra time. but i want you to understand to that he didn't ask her here to comment on the provisions of the draft, per se. >> i thought earlier she was indicating that the administration support this is draft, did concepts in this draft, is that not true. >> i said we support principle that pronted the draft. i'm sorry. the dra

i think it is helpful to give employees more input into how the benefit is used. that one thing helps create a more competitive marketplace. the marketplace does not control costs, or people under 65 get their health insurance at work. normally, their employer is only talking to a couple people about whether they continue with them or go to somebody else on an annual basis or whatever basis they look at their health care. i could see a much larger marketplace than that if the employee also has options beyond what is offered at work. that makes people who offer a policy at work want to be more competitive with the policy offered at work. if you are a big insurance company, offering a policy through general electric, or anybody else, you want people to sit with that policy. suddenly, the competitive dynamic is substantially different than today. competition, savings in the system itself, new technology, new transparency are all part of keeping costs down, as are simply new ways to get people into the current system that are not there now by making things like opting

i am a government employee. dr. screaming on the phone screaming to these gatekeeper's trying to get health care. i don't understand why this is tied to your employment. it doesn't make any sense. it is a time to take a look at the whole thing. host: should there be a tax on your employee benefits on your health care benefits as the president heads to chicago, to speak to the american medical association. the u.s. health-care industry cost two 0.5 trillion dollars annually --2.5 trillion dollars annually. michigan is next, a republican color. good morning. caller: i also support the single payer system for medical. i know it is the only system that will work. they have been given plenty of chances. it will free up a lot of small businesses, allow people to start small businesses that will be able to afford to support themselves. it is unbelievable, all the positive benefits from it. host: maryland you are next. caller: over the weekend, one of the commentators came on and broke down percentages of the 46 million peo

i employ two full-time employees and one part-time employee. i provide health care benefits for our small firm. but i have faced an annual increase in premiums of 12% forcing me to pass on higher cost sharing to these three employees. one employee has diabetes. and also extends coverage to her husband who is a dairy farmer without health insurance coverage. because of their high medical costs, it would have been very difficult for me to find new health insurance without facing even higher rates. health insurance is becoming steadily less inclusive and more difficult to keep. and it's no wonder that in today's economy families count health care costs as one of their top pocketbook issues. madam speaker and colleagues, the stories illustrate why affordable, quality health care for all is so important and so necessary. universal coverage is both a moral and economic imperative. if we are to succeed in the 21st century. for the first time i firmly believe that health care for all is within our grasp. we must act now. and i want to again thank my co

they did with the marketplace suggested and that was offer this service to your employees. with only 20 percent of your sick and rolled for a company like dell and a highly competitive business there weren't when to stop there so that actually paid employees in the% enrolled in the program and they saved money per enrollee today and i'm sure that the goal is 100 percent. unfortunately we are treating this pot of money and not necessarily creating the pathway to get there and i'm also sure that the money actually is conditional to the success of the program. is the education and is the coverage that is key to it and thirdly the enrollment of the individuals so the bill that we are considering the use of 36 million individuals uncovered. that is the cbo numbers and until we get something that changes that is what we've got to go by there is senator harkin pointed out very correctly and that low income americans probably need this more than anybody. on and that is on medicaid population, but we are doing nothing as it relates to medicaid. if you look at the senior population o