. >> back to the public plan option, the president wants to see comprehensive reform and senator grassley said of the want any republican votes, and no public plan option. who is driving the train? >> which train? to make the health reform whether there will be a public plan option? >> the president has been very clear on his priorities. i think you heard the president say earlier this week it this is part of health care reform which is part of a long negotiation and he believes that the public option for those that cannot afford insurance are offered through the workplace, for them a public auction provides important choice of competition i think both committees and the senate are working toward making progress on the president's goals. >> senator grassley is willing to say nobel if there is a public plan is the president ready to say no bill if there is not a public plan? >> i think there are a lot of twists and turns between getting it out and to the president's desk. i think he has been clear and again i think talking democrats versus republicans even in the health committee which has

grassley: i now yield the floor. mr. akaka: i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: mr. akaka: i ask unanimous consent the call of the quorum be suspended. i ask unanimous consent the call of the quorum be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. akaka: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum be equally divided between two parties. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection, so without objection, so ordered. mr. akaka: i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: on

i'd offer for the record senator grassley's statement and, mr. holder, i've been disappointed having responding about the uyghurs, he said he has three letters that's gone unanswered by the department and he has serious concerns about that. i'm sure you'll want to address that. mr. chairman, i will just briefly note with regard to the hate crimes legislation that i would suggest we should have a hearing on that. it's a matter that's worthy of attention and i would note -- offer for the record a june 16, 2009, letter from the united states civil commission on civil rights. i believe six of the eight members signed it and they say -- they write to us and the president and vice president urging that we vote against the hate crimes prevention act. they think it will do, "little good and great harm."

won the senator grassley, who pretty much got the ball rolling. he had a memory to go back to his archives and check some of mr. lindh record as controller and confronted him with some of that history. and i also particularly like claire mccaskill from missouri. the only democrat who voted against that nomination. in the normal scheme of things, there would have been a gaggle of democrats voting against that nomination, had that been a republican administration. she demonstrated great character i thought to separate herself out from that. >> i think senator coleman was one of the other ones. clec senator colburn, i disagree with senator colburn on a lot of social issues but he is fantastic. i would vote for him early and often if i had a chance. he's been a real tiger in court.

much. >> senator grassley, healthcare? >> healthcare? >> supreme court nominee sonia sotomayor's confirmation hearing is set to begin on july 13th. friday, justice ruth bader ginsburg reviewed supreme court cases from this term at the second circuit judicial conference in bolton landing, new york. the second circuit court is the one that supreme court nominee judge sonia sotomayor currently serves on. [applause] >> i'm very glad to be with you, and wish i could stay longer. but monday is d. day at the court, the day that all dissenting opinions must be in circulation. so sadly i will leave this afternoon and go right back to my work table. i wanted to start by mentioning that beyond our business as usual, there were at least three extraordinary events at the court this term. can you hear me in the back? ok. the first was that in january the country welcomed a new president and vice-president. and just days before the inauguration president obama and vice-president biden revived a tradition i had not experienced in my then over 15 years a

charles grassley has been given no authority to negotiate anything. he has said that while his staff has spoken to senator baucus, he is not negotiating with max baucus. we have not had a republican meeting to decide the republican position. it may reflect the fact that i know that our democratic friends know what a lot of us are thinking. host: you will be able to see the entire interview with senator jon kyl later on this morning after this program, at 10:00 a.m. on c-span. we are going to continue our discussion of spending by the obama administration, especially with regards to health and other areas right after this break. we will be right back. ♪ >> the government funding of direct aid to colleges and students is aid late 1960's thing that has grown rapidly since then. >> today, not even government- backed student loans at hillside cut -- hillsdale college are accepted. >> we have a lawyer in town that tries to keep the government from giving us money. he said there would be no use in trying to read the paper work. >> tonight, at 8:00, on c-span

finance committee where he is leading an effort in conjunction with ranking member senator chuck grassley to get consensus on a comprehensive bipartisan health care reform bill in the coming weeks a. as part of that effort he has been a passionate advocate for comparative effectiveness research downright, sponsoring his own legislation with senator conrad in the last congressional session and including provisions to address the inappropriate use of cost information in the comparative effectiveness research. in addition to this he finds time per ultramarathons which is pretty good preparation for what he's trying to accomplish now. senator baucus, we're pleased to have you back at brookings institute for this opening keynote. [applause] >> thank you, mark, very much and thank you very much for inviting me to your session today to talk about an issue i think a great chance a primitive and that is compared -- that is comparative effectiveness research. santi in dallas $0.1, and men alike shopping they would call it research. [laughter] think about it. from cars to television when americans g

i know you're very close to senator grassley? >> i think it would take very long before i got that question. [laughter] >> you know, it's interesting to me, i'm very, very pleased like, for example, this morning front page both the "new york times" and the "washington post" articles about the need to transform our healthcare system. and that reflects the view of senators. both sides of the aisle. we know and not to be presumptuous about this but republicans know and deeply know that we need to transform our healthcare system. the quote by senator gregg this morning is good evidence of that, is a good example and we're trying mightily to find a resolution. it requires a lot of education. one of my biggest problems in getting -- in getting healthcare legislation passed it's so complex. it's so difficult. we have a fairly steep learning curve four us and for some of us it's nearly vertical. [laughter] >> we have spent a lot of time and that's why we had all these sessions, all these meetings, getting people up-to-date, up to speed.

just last week i was talking with some finance democrats and they insist that it will be a baucus-grassleyark meeting. the chairman and ranking member. and i'm wondering, though, are they just sort of grasping at straws here trying to grab gratsly here, maybe senator snow who sits on the finance panel and maybe a couple others? it doesn't think of me you're going to make tup bipartisan product. >> that's what they're doing. senator grassley has been given no authority to negotiate anything by all of us republicans on that committee. and he has said that while his staff has talked to senator baucus' staff, baucus is the chairman of the committee, that he is not negotiating with max baucus. if we have only three days left to produce a bill and we will not have had a republican meeting to decide, ok, what's the republican position on this, then that's what why i say, it may have -- it may reflect the fact that i know our democratic friends know what a lot of us are thinking. and that may partially be reflected but it isn't as if we've sat down with them to write the bill. >> we've been throug

there are many hurdles that remain but i want to thank chairman baucus and ranking member grassley for their very hard work on this extremely complex, difficult issue. we've never had an issue that involved as many people in this country. 100% of the people. and it's important that we get it right, take the time to get it right. member grassley has been very cooperative on it and chairman baucus has been open on it, and that's been extremely helpful. we've spent hours upon hours in that committee receiving inputs and options from both sides on how to reform our nation's health care system. it stands in great contrast to the partisan process that was unfortunately unfolded in the health, education, labor, and pensions committee that we've been tediously working through. there's been a lot of comments about how many amendments we turned in. i think we had about 380 amendments. i had to remind them that if you don't get any piece of the drafting, you've got to get your opinions in somehow, and you do that through multiple amendments. of course i would mention that probably half of those a

think, quite frankly, a better process so far, and i'd like to thank chairman baucus, ranking member grassley, their staffs for their efforts, but we still have not seen a detailed proposal or cost estimates, and we are being pushed to mark something up in the next few weeks as well. i want everyone to understand why process is important. health care reform is important, to be sure. getting things done obviously that is important. but so is process. it's not because i do not want health care reform or any member in this body, i don't think, is in a position to say that they do not want health care reform. i want every single kansan, every single american to be able to see the doctor of their choice when they want to, especially when they have to. and i speak today because this health care reform bill will likely involve one of the biggest, most important votes that i or any one of my colleagues cast during the time that we are privileged to serve in the senate of the united states. this health care reform bill will affect the lives of every single american. it will reform a system that drives

. >> let's go back to the inspector general issue, senator grassley has issued two letters yesterday and he has been pushing the americorps issue but he issued to lenders to the local treasury department and international trade commission regarding their inspector general. could someone infer is that a trend in which the administration? >> if they inverted it would be an incorrect inferences. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> happy father's day. >> happy father's day to all of you guys. >> yesterday canadian prime minister stephen harper took questions from members of the house of commons and the last question time before summer recess. members focused on the economy with unemployment insurance and jobs been the dominant issues. earlier this week the conservative party and the main opposition party, the liberals, agreed to a deal that would preserve the conservatives minority government temporarily. this is 45 minutes. ♪ >> the honorable leader of the opposition. [applause] >> mr. speaker, the acetone crisis isn't just a health care issue, it is about leadership. the government has not

senators grassley and baucus both received the most money from the health-care industry. host: would you like to reply to the first part? guest: a lot of our recent history in the previous administration up until today remains shrouded in secrecy. there is a lot of archaeological work required to document the history of the last 8-10 years and overcome its secrecy. the president has asked jim jones to oversee the 90-day review of classification. some critics have pointed out that the heads of agencies doing the review have not asked for public input. is it necessary? guest: it is desirable. the primary customer for declassified intermission is the public. one would think that it is important to get public input on expectations and demands -- for the classified information. until there will be an informal advisory group. the board will organize some kind of session to receive public comment and suggestion in the process. host: has technology exacerbated the problem, particularly with e-mails over the last 10 years? the volume of those must also increase the volume of docum

senator chuck grassley is involved in the negotiations. over the weekend he used twitter to make his sentiments known to the president. he is a top republican in the senate finance committee. he said obama had the nerve to call for prompt action while sightseeing in paris. iowa is next on our independent line. caller: to the last caller -- where can all those people go? will we had a single-payer system we would not be having that discussion. is a shame that mr. obama has not even allowed that to be discussed. -- it is a shame. i understand from the meeting last week it was supposed to be discussed. back in 2003 obama said he was a proponent of single-payer and it was the only way to go, but that we had a long road to get there. he said first we needed to take back the white house and in congress. guess what? we have all those things, yet we're not even talking about it is too big to do with and people will not stand up to the establishment. the status quo will stay the same until you get a new third party. i encourage people to call in an

i saw senator grassley had received campaign contributions from insurance companies of almost $400,000 from 2003-2008. he had received almost $300,000 from the pharmaceutical companies. host: we will get a response. guest: the obvious answer is the great expense. some people in the military might be happy with their plan, as well. it is extremely expensive. to provide that for every american, that would be beyond the means of what this federal government can do. guest: governor deane and myself -- howard dean and myself argue that when it comes to health reform, they lose their principles on the free market heard what liberals are trying to argue to put a public auction on the table and shoes just as they would choose in the federal employes benefit plan, choose which often they would like. right now, a public auction is not available. there is a dichotomy between poll numbers. 72% of the people believe in a public auction as opposed to what goes on in the senate. they are little club of their own. they lose sight of what is going on how america having their own health plan. one of the

also writing in "bill" today is a key republican player, chuck grassley, r he voices concerns. -- thiss in "the hill" newspaper to do. he says there's no shortage of ideas, but most fall short of revenue to pay for them. some favor universal coverage financed entirely by the taxpaying public. i caution those who favor driving 120 million more americans into a taxpayer- financed insurance system that the federal government is an unfair competitor and would likely run the private sector of business. let's take the first call from the republican line in indiana. caller: i appreciate it. my basic overview is that america cannot pay for everybody. it is difficult for politicians to turn around and say "no." i believe that if you go to a hospital for any need if you cannot pay for you should be turned away. we have to be responsible financially. we have to be responsible for our own actions. nobody should have to pay for anybody else's mishaps or inefficiencies. if you cannot make it, cannot provide for yourself, then you should not be given anything. if we did that -- people say that is cru

but i hope that senator grassley and senator baucus and the finance committee can work in a bipartisan way. i know they are trying to do that. i hope that our democratic colleagues on the house side like mr. waxman, mr. rangel, speaker pelosi, and leader hoyer, will listen to our leader, john boehner. the republican task force has worked diligently over the last three months trying to come up with alternatives so that we can work together for the good of thank you for joining us. >> @ noon, the u.s. house devils in four legislative business. on the agenda, a bill that provides federal rebates for purchases of fuel-efficient vehicles. we spoke yesterday with the capital and reporter for the view of today's debate. >> joining us on the telephone is just aoshj. cash for clunkers, how would it work? >> it would offer americans up to $4.5000 to trade in a gas guzzler for new vehicle. there is a discrepancy on the threshold. the house proposal, which came out of the energy and commerce committee, was issued, the threshold for older vehicles would be 15 miles a gallon. to qualify for the cred

>> well, let me say at the health summit the president was asked this question by senator grassley. you may have heard him. don't you think that having a public health plan is unfair in terms of competition with the private plans? the president said, i think a public option is a way to keep the private sector honest. but -- and we want to achieve accessibility, quality and affordability so that all americans have access to quality health care. he then said, if you have another way to do that, put it on the table. and that's where we are. everything should be on the table. from our perspective here, though, there is strong support for a public option right from the start. and there is also full support for having it be a real competitor, not something that has an overwhelming advantage. of course, it's not for profit and it doesn't advertise. it doesn't have something some of the overhead that the private sector already has. already, just the thought of having a public option hags -- has sort of eliminated words of -- from the health insurance glossary of precondition, portability. e

the judge visited with senators charles grassley and russ feingold. here is a look. >>. >> i just welcomed judge sotomayor, and i want to see that being nominated is the ultimate in professional advancement, i would say. >> yes, sir. do you want to talk to the p press? it's ok? >> i think not. >> do you feel ok? >> i feel fine. >> i think we've had enough now. thank you all. over and out. >> i think they want us to shake hands. >> of course! why not. congratulations. >> thank you, guys. >> thank you. >> >> i had a one-on-one meeting with the judge. it was a very pleasant conversation. since it was a one-on-one meeting, it would be unfair to her for me to say anything about the substance of the meeting, and i don't intend to answer any questions but i want you to know that i enjoyed the 58 minutes that i spent with her. thank you all very much. >> as senator leahy announced, the confirmation hearings for judge sotomayor begun july 13, and we'll have full coverage of the hearings on the c-span networks. for more information on judge sotomayor, go to our

the leaders of the committee on which i serve, the finance committee, chairman baucus and senator grassley, have been extremely fair and gracious. they have put untold hours into this issue. both of them have spent an exceptional amount of time with me, and they have done that literally to offer to any member of the senate to sit down and spend time with them to try to address this bill in a bipartisan way. in the "help" committee, senator kennedy, senator dodd, senator enzi -- senator enzi serves on both committees -- are reflecting the same kind of good will. i've told the leaders of both of these committees, i'm going to do everything i can to bring to them the ideas that i've outlined today, that have strong bipartisan support, that have been scored by the congressional budget office as saving money and pushing the cost curve downward. i have great confidence in the leaders of those two committees because they are showing they want to spend the time to bring the united states senate together. a lot of us on this floor -- i see the distinguished senator from mai -- have worked together

i saw on one of the programs where senator grassley had received campaign contributions from insuranceompanies on almost $400,000 from 2003 until 2008. he had received almost $300,000 from the pharmaceutical companies. host: we will get a response. guest: the obvious answer here it is the expense. such a great health care plan that congress has, even some in the military might be very happy with their plans. it is just extremely expensive. to provide that for every single american a think would be beyond the means of what this current government can do. guest: the book i mentioned with dean and myself, we say that the conservatives lose their principles on the free market when it comes to help her. progressive say to put a public auction on the table and let people choose. choose which option as in the federal plan, that the blood. there is a dichotomy between poll numbers -- 72% believe in a public auction, compared with what goes on in the senate which is a little debating society of its own. often one gets lost in the senate and try to buy votes and win people over is that they lose

right now it's got at least one senator, a republican, senator grassley working on it. it would establish a cooperative but it's a national cooperative for health insurance. and that seems to be gaining popularity. would house republicans go for a plan like that if it had a cooperative that is nationally run, 3 to 4 billion in startup money from the government, has a government board overseeing it? is that something you could go for? it's not government run, it's a cooperative but starts with the help of a government. >> the worry is it sounds an awful lot like the way fannie mae and freddie mac got started. the question is what is the federal government's ultimate obligation? you said there's a proposal that billions of dollars would go in as a startup for a co-op. but really, there's no barriers in the law today with the exception of state regulation of insurance laws, there's no barrier to americans pooling resources and creating association health plans as we proposed for many years. i have to tell you, with the horrendous experience the american people have had wit

be something that president obama and it president uribe discuss early next week to buy senator grassley has said the administration is stonewalling on these agreements, is that a fair way to characterize it? >> i don't think that is the case. and i don't obviously know the basis for which team makes that statement. >> green peas announced yesterday that it proposes the energy legislation and another president wanted it or our originally proposal hundred% option for an add-on 215% and greenpeace says that the lobbyists have gone to this bill and voted it down so much -- watered it down so it can pass it. i wonder if president obama feels this is the best bill that can pass congress or if he stands by the content of the bell regardless of the political consequences and realities? >> look, i think there is no doubt that the president believes this would be an historic step forward in energy and climate change legislation. that he disagrees with those on both sides of the political spectrum that criticize this legislation. date, i believe it the president with very clearly say, the administ

i just -- senator mccain, senator grassley, senator stabenow and myself in fact president obama was a co-sponsor of the legislation last year. he has included in his budget a provision for this kind of legislation. >> will the senators please move their conversation outside? senator from north dakota. >> as i indicated, then senator obama last year was a co-sponsor of our legislation. we had over 30 senators republicans and democrats who believe the same thing and that was we ought to allow the american consumer to access fda approved prescription drugs and not from other countries, not because we want them to shop and other countries but we believe the ability to do so would put downward pressure on prescription drug prices in the country. madam president, if i might by consent jody still bottles to a describe what we are talking about this is lipitor produced in ireland, same pill in the same ball by the same company just shipped in different directions. even the ball is identical accept one is a blue label and one is a red label. one of them went to canada. one of them into the uni

where i have this letter from senator kohl addressed to senator kennedy, enzi, bachus and senator grassley. so, i would recommend we not vote on the colburn amendment but referred to the judiciary committee. and with admonition, with the admonition that we really are supportive of the policy roles outlined in the committee. >> mr. chairman, my comment would be if we come through that legislation all the provisions outside of the scope of the committee i think it would be a lot smaller than it is so i suggest we then go through the bill, find those provisions outside the scope of the committee and eliminate them as soon as possible. >> senator mccain, there's only one committee without bumping against and that is the finance committee. >> there are numerous provisions outside the scope of the committee and i would be glad to identify them to the chairman. >> i don't want to get into that. the fact is they view this as judiciary. what is the thinking of you and senator enzi on this? >> mr. chairman, i am not familiar with our work committee doing for referring. i know there can be point of o

for the senate finance committee, for what they propose, and they see senator baucus and senator grassley as possibly a more sympathetic ear, talking about what they want. that will help determine their strategy. host: our guest will be with us during the course of the hour. if you want to weigh in on it, the numbers will be on your screen. email is available at journal@c- span.org. district heights, maryland, you are up first. caller: i want to say this. when it comes down to the money for the banks, they have no problem. when it comes down to funding these wars, they have no problem. that is number 1. number two, every senator and congressman already has government health care. i would suggest this, that we cut their health care and make them pay for their health care and their families out of their salary, and i guarantee they will come up very quickly with something that can benefit every american in this country. number 3, there are some congressmen and senators who are writing these bills whose family members have stock in the pharmaceutical industry and in other medical areas, and

senator grassley let me know he is, of course, ranking on that committee. senator kyl and senator hatch are also members of that committee. >> i will keep the record open for the rest of the week for additional questions to be submitted. senator cornin. >> thank you, chairman. i want to note that there is no more important chee in the senate than the judiciary committee. >> i do think the finance committee, health committee have taken a lot of our members, and i understand why. >> mr. attorney general, i just have two areas i want to ask you questions about. in november 2008 the department of transportation declared the record complete for continental airlines, and i trust immunized alliance of national airlines. according to u.s. us -- to u.s. codes the secretary was obligated to make a final decision by may 2009. in late april the secretary approved a tentative approval of that alliance in star, but then the may deadline came and went. i wanted to ask you about this because some have indicated that the transportation secretary's failure to meet the statch

but i hope that senator grassley and senator baucus and the finance committee can work in a bipartisan way. i know they are trying to do that. i hope that our democratic colleagues on the house side like mr. waxman, mr. rangel, speaker pelosi, and leader hoyer, will listen to our leader, john boehner. the republican task force has worked diligently over the last three months trying to come up with alternatives so that we can work together for the good of all americans, especially those who, through no fault of their own, are out there with no health insurance coverage. host: congressman phil gingrey, thank you very much for joining us. joining us in just a few minutes, senator bernie sanders, independent from the state of vermont. we will also turn our attention to foreign policy, the situation in the middle east, the elections in lebanon, and also shibley telhami will join us from the year sever city of maryland -- from the university of maryland. it is tuesday morning. "washington journal" continues in just a moment. >> harvard law professor elizabeth warren heads to the congressiona

senator grassley has been giving no authority to negotiate anything by all of us republicans on that committee. he has said that while his staff has talked to senator baucus staff, they are not negotiating with max baucus. if there is only three days left to produce a bill and we will not have had a republican meeting to decide what the republican position is on this, that is why i say it may reflect the fact that i know our democratic friends know what all of us are thinking. that may be reflected, but it's not as if we have sat down with them to write the bill. >> we have been through this before with bill clinton in 1993. regardless of what happens, it has to happen this year before we move into the midterm election year, would you agree? >> no. nothing has to happen this year. >> realistically, politically, can happen? >> the president says we have to do it now or it will happen. why is he saying that? he is saying that because he knows the longer these left-wing ideas are hanging out there, left the american public likes him. when they realize their care will be rationed under h

appreciate the urgency of focusing on health care reform working under chairman baucus and ranking member grassley on the finance committee. i know other senators have been working hard at this as well. senator kennedy and senator enzi on th the "help" committee and i want to urge us to keep working very hard to work through all the complexities and moving parts of this very challenging problem. but i also want to say that i think how we discuss health care reform is very important but i'm also concerned that some voices are greeted with derision or even implicit threats that suggest they better keep quiet if they know what's good for them. tremendous amount of work has gone into the series of three finance committee roundtables and walk throughs but i'm disturbed by some reports that perhaps senators and certainly staff have urged key stakeholders in the health care reform debate to keep their mouth shut. mr. president, every american citizen has a right to petition their government. this is a right every american citizen has. and no american should be told to keep quiet on the subject of health

you know, maybe chuck grassley. i think he's very torn. i think he is working very hard with baucus right now. i just don't know if he can agree to what the majority of democrats in the house will demand. andt

to highlight the flaws than contrasting it to the process as i mentioned with senator baucus and grassley as they followed it in the finance committee. both staffs worked together to develop a bipartisan list of options, actually starting with a blank piece of paper. they then spent several weeks holding roundtables an closed door walkthroughs where they spent dozens of hours discussing the complex issues with a range of policy experts and developing potential policies. i don't know whether the finance committee will ultimately be able it produce the bipartisan bill. there are several provisions that are still being considered that i may disagree with and others may. in spite of that the process solicited input from every member and gave them a choice to air concerns. that is the process that allows norse to explore different proposals and ultimately develop a bipartisan bill. and weigh the pros and cons and develop a bipartisan bill. we've had that in this committee and it's been in such a compressed timeframe that i don't think that all of the things have gotten out or we wouldn't have

i strongly agree with senator balk and senator grassley, we need a bipartisan bill. many democrats and republicans, we need a bipartisan bill. my fear is if we don't have a bipartisan bill we will not be successful. while there's -- most of the media coverage of the health care debate is focusing on the conflict, should we have a public plan or not? tax exclusion? what portion of our benefits should be excluded from taxation? should there be employer mandate? setting that aside, but there is huge agreement on a bunch of things that are important that are going to save money, save lives, reduce costs and provide better health care. make it possible for businesses, large and small, but especially small businesses, to get interest a purchasing pool to be able to take advantage of lower rates and better choices of benefits for their folks. moving toward chronic care. to make sure we're -- people who have diets do not have to wait until they are really sick and have to have arms, legs or feet amputated but take care early on. the purchasing pools that we will create under

and some of us, senator mccain, myself, senator kennedy, senator grassley, republicans and democrats, senator snowe, especially, my cosponsor, on the reimportation of prescription drug legislation, some of us believe that the american people ought to have the ability and the advantage of the world marketplace to purchase that identical prescription drug, f.d.a. approved, produced at an f.d.a.-inspected plant, to be able to purchase it from anywhere in the world at a fraction of the price. we've put together legislation that dramatically improves the safety of our drug -- prescription drug supply in our country and the drugs coming in. because, by the way, a lot of the prescription drugs we take are imported. lipitor is imported into this country. and the pharmaceutical industry, which has always opposed our legislation because they want to charge the highest prices in the world to th the u.s. consumers, they say, well, if do you this, if you allow americans to import f.d.a.-approved drugs, there's a greater possibility of counterfitting. our legislation will dramatically improve safet

those ratings have stayed up there and i think that there will be a bill but i hope that senator grassley and senator baucus and the finance committee can work in a bipartisan way. i know there are trying to do that and i hope our colleagues on the house side of my democratic colleagues when mr. waxman and mr. rangel and obviously speaker pelosi and will listen to our leader john boehner, the doctors caucus, the 15 of us of the republic and doctors caucus, the republican task force has worked diligently over the past months to come of with alternatives so that we can work together for the good of all americans especially those few to no fault of their own air out there with no health insurance coverage. >> congressman mr. gingrey of virginia, thank you. >> we continue our discussion on health care system, vermonts center bernie sanders launched, join us on "washington journal" for 30 minutes. >> host: i want to introduce bernie sanders, thank you for being with us. your single payer plan, how what were? >> guest: it begins to do the major problems that exist in our current health care sys

senator grassley het me know that he is ranking on that committee. senator hatch, senator corner and senator kyle also are members of that important committee. so i'm glad they can at least be here for a while. >> thank you. i'm glad, too. of course i will keep the record open for the rest of the week for additional questions to be submitted. senator corner -- senator cornyn. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i want to note for the record, mr. chairman, there is no important committee in the senate than the judiciary committee -- judiciary committee. >> i liked you anyway. you didn't have to say that. but i do think the finance committee, the health committee, are taking a lot of our members and i understand why. >> mr. attorney general, i just have two areas i want to ask you questions about. in november, 2008, the department of transportation declared the record complete in the continental airlines which is headquartered in houston, texas. their application of joint star alliance and anti-trust immunized alliance of international airlines. according to u

he said so in his letter the my friend from iowa, senator grassley, said he was just being political. i don't think so. i think he studied this and he knows a public option will make the system work well. it may be after three years the public option fails and isn't needed. fine. fine. but i don't believe that will happen. but we're not going to in the public option just keep putting more and more and more government money in till it wipes out the insurance companies. that's not the intent. the intent is to have a robust market like we have in other state and some of the federal systems where many different plans compete. one is a public option. there might also be co-ops like my friend from north dakota has been advocating. there will be plenty of private insurance companies. i'd say one other thing here: my friends on the other side of the aisle say -- well, why can't we just have the private insurer compote and is a whole lot of plans. we don't have that in the vast majority of states now. we have a system where any private company can sell insurance but i believe the statistic is