coburn: thank you. i'd ask unanimous consent that whatever pending amendment be set aside and that the coburn amendment 1879 be called up. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. mr. dorgan: mr. president, might i ask the senator to yield for a question? mr. coburn: i would be happy to yield. mr. dorgan: mr. president, senator coburn and i and senator bennett have talked about the order of his amendments. i believe he has three amendments and we intend to accept one. i had indicated to them -- to him on the contracting amendment that he intends to offer that i will offer a -- an amendment as well and we'll have side-by-side votes. and i wonder if i might offer my amendment just to have it pending, the senator would then offer his amendment and discuss it and i would offer my amendment on behalf of myself and senator bennett. mr. coburn: sure. mr. dorgan: if that's acceptable to the senator from oklahoma, mr. president, i believe my amendment is filed and i would ask that that amendment be called u

so does coburn have some 'splainin' to do? did he cross the line?ing, you tell me. go to twitter.msnbc.com. we should leave ricky ricardo to the reruns on tv land. >> absolutely. amen to that. tamron, it's almost 4:00 on the east coast. we are watching two stories developing at this hour. live pictures from capitol hill where senators and the judiciary committee have started their second round, their second round of questions for supreme court nominee sonia sotomayor. right now, senator sessions from alabama is up for his second go-round. and live pictures from florida where we are waiting for police to make announcement in connection with the mu c

.  >>> america, meet senator tom coburn, from okloma.oly known outside oklahoma mostly for raising the restf the country's collective eyebrows from time to time. like in 2004 when dr. coburn said he tht doctors that performed artions should be executed. or when at a campaign event the sameear said it was impossible to use thbathrooms in many 0 lahoma jnior high schools nowadays because of wh he called rampant lesbianism and the time in 1977when he nounced nbc for airi aovie "schindler's list" before ultimately apologizing said thescar winning hocst dra wasull of vile language, nudity a violence. it w a filabout the holocaus tom coburn is now famo as the other senator in thestill unfolding john ensign sex scandal. doug hampton, the husband of the woman senator ensign admits to sleeping with claims senator coburn tried to netiate an end tohe affa, and that as part those negotiatis, senator coburn encouraged senator ensign to write that now public handwritten apology lr to his mystery and to pay her family restitution. mr. cobn, exse me, dr

cacall or clk today. >>> america, meet setor tom coburn, from oklahoma. eviously known outside oklahoma mostly for raising the rest of the country's collecti eyebrows from time to time like in 2004 whedrcoburn told an repter that he thought doctors that performe abortions shoulde ecuted. orhen at a campaign event the same year said it was impossib to use the bathrooms imany oklahoma junr high schools nowadays because of what h called rampant lesbianism d the time in 1997 when deunced nbc for airing a movie "schindler's list" before ultimately apologizing he said thoscar nning holocaust dramwas full of vile language, nudity and violence. it was film about the holocaust. tom coburns now famous as the otr senator in the still unfolding hnnsign sex scandal. doug hampton, the huand of the woman senator ensign admits to sleeping with clai senator corn tried to negotiate annd to the affair, and that as part of those notiations, senator coburn encouged senator ensign to write that now public handitten apology letter to his mistress ando pay her mily restitution.

coburn is actually slipped on this. hampton's version of events is that he got some of the folks who live at this so-called c street house, including tom coburn, the republican senator from oklahoma, to confront john ensign about this affair, that john ensign subsequently wrote this letter, handwritten letter which i obtained from hampton, and posted that shows his supposedly contrition about this and that the affair is over, fedexed it, but continued then, of course, to pursue the wife at this meeting which hampton described in detail, coburn was among those who said you've got to do ri

setor coburn was one of ensign's roommat. and he alleges that coburn confronted eign about the affair and saihe should pay the hampto millions of dolls. senator coburn offic has previously resisted our effort for mmts on this matter, but today they did give us this statement. quote, dr. coburdid evything he cou to encourage senator ensign endthis affair and to persuade senator ensinto repa the damage he had caused his own marriage and the hampton's marriage. had senator sign followed dr. coburn's adve, this episode wod have ended and been made public long ago. the connection between cobur and ensign happeo be the sa connection that connects this republican sex scandal wi the other republic sex scandal stilongoing, the one of governor mark sanford. the connection is house in washington cald "c" street. coburn and ensign both lived together that was madeamous when mark sanford mentioned it in his lon ramblg, i was sleeping witthe argentinian la speech. he said that he received support from c streeturing the time he was continui

ululte were lost on mark sanford a john ensign, andowow bizarretories about th role r reblican tom coburn tried to playay. >>> later mt lauer and bruno. ed we say more? no w. anand he other things we t thoht you shouldld kw.w. >> brazil rubs inin scer victory orr the u u. all thh a and more thihis hour nbnbc. >>> > go afternoon, everyone. i'm tamron hall l lve in new york. y, david. hi, taon. mm david shuster leein washingtgton the big picture this afternoon, president obama's g-88 trippisi not quitite the roroma holidid.. with the presidentnt italy trng gain globob coopereratn,n,rouble is brewing foforrhe white houseseack rere. juju t taka look at what ththe presidentt f fac when he c cos back hoho. warren b buftttt has given ececonicicdvice to the presesenent,s crititic of t the $7$787illion stimuluspkakage >> our rsrst stimululusilill seeded tme sort o like t ting a a ha a tablet o viaiagraa andd then having also a a bunch o of candnd mixed in.n. itit dsnsn'tave whitethe wallolp that might have e be anticipated.d. >> and republicans have gone on the offensive i i where's t t beef style

senator coburn was one of engn's roommates.sgn about the affair and said should pay the hamptons millions of doars. senator coburn's offices h previously rested o efforts for comments on this matter, but today they did give us this statement. ote, dr.orn did everything heould to encourage senator ensi end to this affair and to persuade nator ensine to repair the damage he d caused to his own mriage and the hampton's marria. had he followed dr. burn's advice, this would he ended and been made public long ago. the connection between coburn and ensig happens to be the same connection that connect is republican sex scandal with the other republican sex anl still ongoing, the one of governor mark sanford. the connection is a house in washgton called "c" street. coburn and ensign both lived together tt was made famous when mark sanned for mentioned it in hilong rambling, i was sleeping wh the argentinn lady speech. that would he en at roughly the same time tha john ensign s getting advice from his "c" street friends aboutow best to p

in an senator coburn, can you tell me what it is you want to do? >> i don't want to force -- i don't want to force a position or a hospital or a provider against their conscience to perform euthanasia, assisted suicide or a mercy killing. >> and i agree with that. >> we agree with that but i think one of our troubling things is when a the line is reached between one informed consent about what people want to do and they give their medical directives. >> we have clarified that in our amendment. it does not deal with the withdrawal of care. first of all, is alito -- >> can you show me where it is? i'm trying to understand imminent. >> line 14, page two does not have any affect on limitation relating to the withholding or withdrawing of medical treatment or medical care or nutrition or hydration or abortion or the use of an item good benefits for alleviating pain or discomfort even if that may increase the risk of death. >> my view is on this having read this the staff has gone over and accepted the amendment. and i recommend we do. >> i would second

coburn, the republican senator from oklahoma. he's also concerned about guns. jeff toobin, help us explain, her position specifically on the federal obligation to support the second amendment as opposed to local communities or states. >> you know, it's funny, the way that this hearing goes, you would think that supreme court precedent is some unchanging thing, that is just the law, that is changed. but if you look at the second amendment, that's something that's changed dramatically over the last -- 50 years. including when i was in law school, which was more recently than 50 years ago. the idea that you had a second amendment right to a gun was considered preposterous. the text of the second amendment, i believe we have it -- we have it in our system, you know, speaks of a well-regulated militia and the right to bear arms. well, courts used to say, well, this only affects the rights of state militias, but the supreme court two years ago in the famous heller decision said, when it comes to the federal government, we -- individuals have a personal right to bear

and coburn is a very independent guy in some respects. but this does play into a larger scenario on the right that there is a secret agenda, not just with this nomination, but some with say with the entire obama administration, and it does go to this issue of are they going to take our guns away? are they going to allow foreign governments to come in here and we're going to have to follow their laws. this is a very -- it's a small group, but it is very volatile right now on the far right of people who have these views and some of these lines of questioning, i think, are playing into that apparently. >> let's cut it back to a middle case. maybe they have a point. not so much that she is a foreigner or alien force or someone un-american in some scary way but she is hooding herself, that she is keeping down -- andrea, she's not the same person who gave that speech to the duke university students. she's not the same person who speaks to fellow latinas about their hopes and dreams to be a bigger part of american society. she is being a very co

coburn: i am happy to yield. mr. sessions: i know my colleague has given more time and effort to studying the sixness that's infacting -- sickness that's infecting congress with regard to how we spend money in this body and he has taken a lot of heat for standing up and raising the issues and i salute him for it but the amendment we have before us, it seems to me, senator, this is absolutely typical of how out of step congress is. this might be a swell bill for whoever benefits from it and -- but the people who are paying for it, aren't really aware that the money they earn from the sweat of their brow is now going to embed who got a better health care plan, a better retirement land and higher pay than they get and more job security than they get. in my home built unemployment rate is over 20%. and then we have people with so much better jobs wanting more money -- this is a $2 billion amendment? so, i just ask, isn't this sort of a pretty egregious example of the tendency we have to try to reward one group and ignore

shut up, coburn!ndy, the meanan m h havmade w wte a nasty letter to y you and i dodon'meme it and you ouou disregard it and i'llll wawaysove you. >>ho is this? >> it's john. john ensign. nator john ensign. >> oh, sure. did send the 96,000 yet? [ door bell ] >>ohn. cindy. >> john. >> cindy. >> john. >> so, you want to go hiking on the old appalachian trl? ♪ >> polical columnist for oomberg news and washington editor of the week marret carlson. good evening, margar >> good evening. >> this stuff would embarras not ferring to the puppets, the whole story now would embarrass mark sanford. how on ear does senator ensign noregn? >> i think he do resignow. itlooked like he had a pass than to a fellow repuican governor sanford but there are now too many tngs ing on. the pants giving them the $96,000, first of all, it makes him look childish like hs being oked after by his parents. they're going to have a tax problem because you n't give away mey as gift when you're getting something eturn, which ishe silence.

since coburn is also an obstetrician one would think or at least hope that dr. coburn already knew the answer to this completely hypothetical question unless he just happens to have a uterus. >> let's say i'm 38 weeks' pregnant and we discover a small spina bifida sack on the lower part of the back on my baby and i feel like i just can't handle a child with that. would it be legal in this country to terminate that child's life? >> i can't answer that question in the abstract because i would have to look at what the state of the state ae's law was on th question and even if i knew that i probably couldn't apply it because i'm sure that situation might well arise before the court. >> by the time senator coburn had judge sotomayor trying to explain whether the second amendment con fers a right to personal self-defense things seem to have entered into would any jury really blame her territory. senator coburn somehow morphing into ricky ricardo. >> if i go home, get a gun, come back and shoot you, that may not be legal under new york law because you would have altern

tom coburn today, senator tom coburn from oklahoma, and he seemed to be saying the same thing that ifent doesn't do these things well, why should we let them get involved now? >> reporte >> well, the private industry hasn't done things well in the past 50 years either. costs have gone up twice the rate of inflation. >> is that because of greed? >> no. i think there are just some inefficiencies in the situation that we can address through a whole variety of measures being put forth by these ideas on capitol hill. but the president has said he will not sign a bill that does not do something to bring costs under control, that is not deficit neutral and doesn't accomplish what he says is important, which is making sure every american has access to health

this was senator coburn questioning the judge about whether she believes there is a fundamental rightense and this, of course, related to gun rights i. let's watch. >> do i have a a right to personal self-defense? >> i'm trying to think if i remember a cation wherele supreme court has addressed that particular question, is there a constitutional right to self-defense and i can't think of one. >> does the second amendment mean something under 194th amend? does what the constitution, how they take the constitution, not how our bright legal minds but what they think is important is it okay to defend yourself and your home if you are under attack? >> norah o'donnell, how did she do during all these questions and answers, trying to get her to commit herself on controversial issues, abortion, gun rights? how do you think she did today in the second day of the hearings? >> she was able to back that pretty quickly, remain pretty cam, you hit that on the head, andrea. today was about the hot-button social issues, let about her rhetoric like yesterday, the wise latina comments and more trying t

then coburn said what about technology and its advancement?a bearing on how we look at roe versus wade? senator coburn saying doctors can now save a 21-week-old baby and she said, again, i cannot answer that in the abstract. you can tell that judge sotomayor has been well-coached and well-trained and is avoiding direct and specific answers to senator coburn's questions. chris? >> okay. was there a heckler this morning as well some. >> i did not see a heckler this morning. the last heckler, yesterday. >> let's get back to senator coburn from oklahoma. >> next is in your ruling, the second circuit ruling, and i'm trying to remember the name of the case. maloney. the position was is that there's not an individual fundamental right to bear ams arms in this country. is that a correct understanding of that? >> no, sir. >> okay. please educate me, if you would. >> in the supreme court's decision in heller, it recognized an individual rights to bear arms as a right guaranteed by the second amendment, an important right, and one that limited the action

coburn. >> i'm having trouble sleeping. >> stop it. tom coburn, a great guy.nd i were saying we wish there were more senators like tom coburn. >> speaks to power. >> republican or democrat. doctor and senator john barra o barrasso, republican from wyoming. let's start with you, john. >> are you going to ask for the prescription? >> no, i just wanted to give you perspective. >> have a nice glass of wine before you go to sleep. >> there you go. tom figured it out. that's all you're going to get. >> tom, let's start with we've been talking all morning about why the president's poll numbers are falling. why do you think that is as it pertains to health care? >> oh, i don't know. i'm not very good at that. i think people were expecting something different. people -- everybody in this country recognizes we have a problem with health care and we need major changes. but trusting the government as the source to manage those changes is very uncomfortable with the vast majority of americans. all you have to do is look at medicare and medicaid and see how they are out of

when we come back, we'll go to recognize senator coburn, who's next. thank you. >> senator patrick leahy, the chairman of the judiciary committee ordering a recess right now, a break, 10 or 15 minutes and thaen they'll resum the questioning with senator ted coburn of oklahoma. we watch sonia sotomayor greet her friends and family members and leave the hearing room for a little while and let's get ready to assess what we just heard and arlen spectser one of the most senior members of this committee, but technically ranks as the second most junior member right now because he switched parties from the republican party to the democratic party and only al franken more junian than him right now. he is spending 20 30 minutes in the first round, 20 minutes in the second round asking those questions. there may be a round of 10 minutes each although patrick leahy would like to eliminate that, if possible. they want to move on and get the outside witnesses to come in who have been asked to testify for and against her confirmation. we're standing by to speak live

. >> i think senator coburn and senator sessions did a good job and senator cornyn did a good job. they realized as we all do the media did the best to confirm her months ago for this job. therefore that natural opportunities for drama that weren't there. for example, frank ritchie should have been the whistle-blower on the hearings as the firefighter. norman and jane rowe should have been anita hill figure. they said no, she is a moderate leave it at that. >> washington post they were compiling how many blinks she gave during certain answers. it seemed like the coverage got a little vacuous at times. >> i love the washington post lead, she sought to reframe critics. judge was swayed by gender and ethnicity. please. she completely contradicted herself when she tried to explain her wise latina remark. instead of holding her feet to the fire, post, she sought to reframe the accusations of her critics. i think the republicans did a pretty good job to get their arguments in there. it was predicted you can't criticize a latina, people are more intelligent than that. instead -- remember

but coburn gettingg wrapped up n th is really a problbl for him. the two arere very cclo.. cobuburnofof crse, hashahared a lot of information baa and foh or this and h h appapantntlynown for over a a yr out the affair. so the rerealproblem anand velation is cobururn' inlvement. >> letet'sololw the money. y youhink it's legal? >> welll,nn termrm o of the lelity, we're t tlklking about nene beinin transferrered from ensign's's parentsoo thisouple each in l li 22,0 dedeminations, which is, bebelie, the lowest --'m'm sorry, the highest amount ey could d dondnd n have it be taxexe the legalityy o it,t, y know, that's going to be determininedy the ethics committtteendnd so rtrth. >> reporteter:owowo we knowow i' nono extortion? how do we know that? >>>> wl, we don't know unless we know the relationsns he coerersaons, unless we knoww exactly y wh t the dede w was a of corse, coburn and ensign have hit backk saying it's b be mimiscracterized. ththeye e t corresponding with the story that'seiei told byby mpmptoand others. d d ssou know, thhis still is unfolding. itit a bad thing for

now, coburn says, let's just make today's programs work? folks, that is code for, let's do nothing.publicans did nothing for eight years in the bush administration, although they did tell you to go out and get that health care savings account. how did that work out for you? they never had a plan for health care, and never had a plan to even help those who don't have insurance get insurance. they're phonies! we do have the best doctors in the world, i'll give them that. but saying that our system is the best in the world? that's delaware psycho talk. product do women think is best? according to a study presented by better homes and gardens, definity color recapture. it corrects the look of wrinkles and discoloration. 50,000 voters. one brilliant winner. [ engine powers down ] gentlemen, you booked your hotels on orbitz. well, the price went down, so you're all getting a check thanks. for the difference. except for you -- you didn't book with orbitz, so you're not getting a check. well, i think we've all learned a valuable lesson today. good day, gentlemen. thanks a lot. thank you. in

that's what ensign and coburn and largent were in as long as spor brownbeck was involved as well. when you join this group which they describe as a publically invisible but privately identifiable group of companions or invisible believing group, you agree to give the other men in your prayer cell veto rights over your life. we've seen that with senator ensign and the way in which the affair was handled. and these questions around whether, who directed him to give money to his mistress. it seems like he's getting instruction from the group and that's what i think is -- former congressman largent is referring to when he says you give one another license. >> on that issue of secrecy, congressman wamp as i mentioned in the introduction complained to us about our essentially reading a quote from a newspaper that he, when he didn't complain to the newspaper about it. and i raise that again because congressman wamp seems to be sort of tying himself into knots about the issue of secrecy. simultaneously complaining this group isn't secretive but also saying if they didn't keep secrets then

joining me now senator tom coburn, republican member of the senate judiciary committee, and it is good to have you with us. >> lou, good to be with you. >> the divide seems very clear. f focus on what appears to be politics, perhaps the suggestion of personal preference on the part of the judge, and the democrats find her narrative and her record to be absolutely exemplary and also external to the committee and the hearings the ada saying she is well qualified to be a supreme court justice. are we going to see that assertion made by the republicans as well, or will there be contention tomorrow? >> i think we have to wait and see. we have finished the statement, then you'll start hearing the questioning. the thing that is concerning is both district court judges and appellate court judges have what they're guided by. the supreme court is not. they get a change precedent. and so even though she's had a long history on the bench at the appellate and district court level, what she says outside of her rulings bears a significant responsibility onto us for how we assess her capability to han

. >> reporter: oklahoma republican tom coburn, doctor that opposes abortion rights, pressed sotomayor. if doctors develop ways for babies to survive outside the womb at an earlier stage than is now possible, should abortion restrictions be tightened? sotomayor refused to answer. >> probably couldn't because i'm sure that situation might well arise before the court. >> reporter: coburn condemned this week's anti-abortion disruptions. >> i apologize for the outburst that occurred in this committee. >> reporter: but later as he i joked with the nominee, coburn seemed to use the signature line of latino comic character ricky ricardo from "i love lucy." >> have you lots of 'splaining to do. >> reporter: democrats are praising on the on the with praise. >> have you done nothing but to vindicate and reinforce the pride that so many people feel in you. >> reporter: some republicans are calling the nominee ee vasive. >> confusing, backtracking on issue after issue. >> reporter: after three days of hearings, other republicans ad mimt sotomayor looks sure to be confirmed. the hard part for her,

now, on this network a few days ago, you were on with senator coburn. and senator coburn said that we have the best health care system in the world. do you agree with that? >> i think in many parts of the health care system, it is the best in the world but we need absolute improvement. there's a lot more we need to do to help people, to make sure that we have a health system instead of a sickness system and right now we have a sickness snm this country, not a health system. >> again, do you think that the congress should address the gross profits that this company has put forward in the second quarter of 155% increase. can you defend that? >> i'm telling you that insurance reform needs to be a part of health care reform. >> and what is that? what reform are we talking about that would reel in profit like that so the american people don't have double-digit increase s in their health care. >> opportunities for small businesses to group together, to get better deals. president obama when he was in the senate voted against that. the ability for people to ge

. >> reporter: oklahoma republican tom coburn, a doctor who opposes abortion rights, pressed sotomayor. if doctors develop ways for babies to survive outside of the womb at an earlier stage than now possible, shod abortion restrictions be tightened? sotomayor refused to answer. >> probably couldn't -- i'm sure that situation might well arise before the court. >> reporter: coburn condemned this week's anti-abortion disruption. >> i apologize for the outburst that occurred in this committee. >> reporter: later as he joked with the first hispanic high court nominee -- coburn seemed to use the signature line of latino comic character ricky ricardo from "i love lucy." >> you have lots of 'splaining to do. >> you have done nothing to vindicate and reinforce the pride that so many people feel in you. >> reporter: some republicans are calling the nominee evasive. >> confusing, backtracking on issue after issue. >> reporter: after three days of hearings, other republicans admit that sotomayor looks sure to be confirmed. >> the hard part for her the interrogation is almost over. tomorrow other w

but i couldn't do that under a definition of self-defense. >> okay. >> senator coburn's comment about explaining is about the situation "i love lucy." which said lucy, you got splainin'to do. >> also. rising outrage about the explosive growth of federal government. out of control spending and higher taxes on the way. president obama giving a pep talk on health care legislation. >> we need to buck up, people, a little bit. american people are on board. it's now up to us. >> we'll tell you why the president's assertion may not be entirely correct. this is humiliating. stand still so we can get an accurate reading. okay...um...eighteen pounds and a smidge. a smidge? y'know, there's really no need to weigh packages under 70 pounds. with priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service, if it fits, it ships anywhere in the country for a low flat rate. cool. you know this scale is off by a good 7, 8 pounds. maybe five. priority mail flat rate boxes only from the postal service. a simpler way to ship. as we get older, our bodies become... less able to absorb calcium. he recommended citr

>> shut up, coburn! >> ccdydy, e mean menaa made me write aaast letter toyoyou and d ionon't mean it a you ouou disregard itand i'll alwaysys le e u. >> whoho iththis >> it's john.. hnhn ensign. senator johnensigig >> oh, rr did you u se t the6,000 yet? [ door bell ] >> john. >> cinindy >> jojohn >> ccin. >> jojo. >> so, y yo want to gogo hikingn the old appalachian trail? political columnmnis fofor bloomberernenewsnd washington editor off thweek m maaret carlson. go evening, maaret. >> good d evinin >> thiss sffff wouldembarrass, nonoreferring to the puppets, the whole story now w wou embarrass markrksanford. how onarth does sesenarr enensi not resign? >>>> ihink h he does resign now. l lood like he haaa a pa than -- ss thanks to a fellow republican governor r saoror bu ere are now too many things ing on. ththpapares giving emem the $96,00000, first of all, it mam him lookhildish like he's being looked after b byis parents. eyeye going to haveax problem because e yoan't ge awaymomoy as a agift when y yo

up will be john cornyn, the republican senator from texas, followed by some other democrats, tom coburn, the republican from oklahoma. senator patrick leahy, he's already there. you see the back of his head. they're getting ready to convene this session momentarily, even though the room looks still sort of empty, a lot of folks are still arriving. let's check in with our senior congressional correspondent, dana bash. dan dana, set the scene on what's supposed to be the third and final day that she will appear before this panel before other witnesses are brought in. >> it was supposed to be. i was told this morning that may slip into tomorrow depending how late and long the questioning goes tonight. in terms of the scene behind me, you see the two remaining republicans, john cornyn, the republican of texas, and tom coburn of oklahoma. they're there, ready to go. they certainly have a lot of questions. i talked to several republican sources this morning, wolf, who said that the theme they hope republicans will really hone in on this morning is what they're calling the confirmation convers

we've got too many jim demints and tom coburns. it's the southerners. people hear them and say these people, they're southerners. the party is being taken over by southerners. is the party of lincoln getting weighted down by the refugees from the democratic party down in dixie? finally in more ways than one, we've now got republicans opposing health care reform by telling people that the government is coming to your house to ask you how you want to die. is that more mularkey? that's in the "politics fix." plus what, general colin powell has to say about mr. afternoon delight himself, rush limbaugh in the "hardball" sideshow. first, fox news host glen beck said this early tuesday about president obama. >> this president i think has exposed himself as a guy over and over and over again who has a deep seated hatred for white people or the white culture. i don't know what it is. >> fox was so concerned by that that it issued a statement separating itself from it. here's a statement from bill schein, the senior vice president of programming for fox news. "du

today, republican tom coburn, an obstetrician from oklahoma, approached the issue again. >> let's say i'm 38 weeks pregnant and we discover a small spina bifida sack on the lower sacrum, the lower part of the back on my baby, and i feel like i just can't handle a child with that. would it be legal in this country to terminate that child's life? >> i can't answer that question in the abstract because i would have to look at what the state of the state's law was on that question, and what the state said with respect to that issue. i can say that the question of the number of weeks that a woman is pregnant has been that approach to look at a woman's... was changed by casey. the question is: is the state regulation regulating what a woman does an undue burden? and so i can't answer your hypothetical because i can't look at it as an abstract without knowing what state laws exist on this issue or not. and even if i knew that, i probably couldn't opine, because i'm sure that situation might well is rise before the court. >> holman: another abortion opponent, texas republican john cornyn, poi

i understand that senator coburn is ready to go with an amendment and we recognize senator coburn. >>thank you mr. chairman. i have amendment number 205. >> ok, just a minute. all right and we need to give this down so that we can your senators when they offer their amendments, please. can i this is a real straight for the amendment and i want to talk about why i am offering the amendment. what do we know about medicaid outcome data? here is what we know, that if you are a medicaid patient and have -- if you have coronary artery bypass surgery the river to person likely to die and 80 percent with a heart attack becoming if you present with congestive heart failure, if the present as a medicaid patient accused extremists you are less likely to get their appropriate heart catheterization and management of your heart condition. these are all published studies. what else we know about medicaid? we know that children who are on medicaid programs and schip have a lower rate of immunizations and kids who aren't and we also know that have an increased rate of cost position that doesn't have a

tom coburn, richard burr, they have great ideas about having this choice which would be a tax rebate that goes to individuals and families that aren't covered. it incentivizes smart decisionmaking by individuals on health care. that's a very smart idea. bill: i have no problem with that. i want to keep the private health care system in place, but the government has to provide oversight and make sure that the price gouging and the astronomical rise of everything, including aspirin -- you get an aspirin in a hospital, they will charge you $10 for it. it has to stop. by the way, the swiss system works better than ours. it does. >> i don't know what the mortality rate is in switzerland, but it's better than obama care, i would grant you that. bill: all right. i have to switch over to sotomayor. you have been listening. everybody has. would you vote to confirm? >> no, absolutely not. sonia sotomayor over the last few days has proven herself to be the david blaine of judges, ok? this is a master illusionist, because she has not walked away from 30 years of her views on judging. she has run

it will just be a short question to senator coburn. as i understand it, as i understand it, the way this bill would operate is that this would become in effect until 2013? so it would be in effect for seven years and as i understand it, under this bill, they want the federal government to pay the difference over what it is now for the states, right? but only for a limited period of time. then who's going to inherit the costs in six years? >> the states. >> who? the states are going to inherit the costs? if they do that, what state can do that? i was looking at just the "new york times" i think it was a short while ago, it said in hawaii, state employees are bracing for furloughs at three days a month over the next two years. the equivalent of a 14% pay cut in idaho. lawmakers reduced aid to public schools for the first time in recent memory, forcing pay cuts for teachers and in kashgs where a $24 billion deficit for the coming fiscal year is the nation's worst, governor arnold schwarzenegger is releasing thousands of prisoners early an

senator coburn vociferously denies that. now members of congress associated with c street are getting cagy about talking about the group after a christian magazine called "the world" described north carolina democratic member of congress heath shuler as a resident of c street. the hometown paper, "the asheville citizen times" called schuler's office to confirm. schuller's office would not confirm or deny it saying, "quote, sorry about this one, but because of privacy issues, we're not giving out any information about the congressman's living arrangements." a congressman gets to be private about whether he lives in a religious group home that swears the members to secrecy about the activities. how long do you think the congressman gets to be private about that? not to be outdone, another conservative democrat, bart stuback of michigan who's been listed as a c street resident in the press so artfully dodged questions about the family and c street on a recent conference call with reporters that he has earned himself a new addit

and why this is such a serious matter now in the capit capitol, this has also ensnared senator tom coburna really close friend of senator ensign. >> how is that? >> doug hampton claims that tom coburn essentially acted as a go-between to sort of arrange a restitution deal. that hampton claims would have involved paying off this huge mortgage that the hamptons had incured. >> you mean like a -- don't say anything about this and we'll take care of you? >> our source made it very clear, a source with knowledge of this meeting that apparently took place at the fellowship house between doug hampton and

>> i can't answer that question in the abstract. >> reporter: coburn caused some raised eyebrows when he seemed to mimic latino comedian desi arnaz responding to the nominee. >> you'll have lots of splainin' to do. >> reporter: senator arrest len spector on how the court should desaid what cases it takes. >> if i say something today, is that going to make a statement about how i'm going to prejudge someone else's -- >> i'm not going to ask to you prejudge. i would like to know your standards for taking the case. >> most democrats are downright woking. >> he we just want to invite you as a baseball fan to an orioles game and we promise it will not be when the yankees are playing so you can root for the baltimore orioles. >> reporter: in the end, it was the newest senator, al franken of manhunt minute who scored the most memorable exchange. sotomar said the tv show perry mason inspired her career. i know he should remember the name of it. >> didn't the white house prepare you? >> tom first gerald, fox 5 news. 55-year-old veteran federal judge was nominated by president obama to replace

>> coburn, as your viewers know, are roommates with ensign. he is an ordained deacon. say that he acknowledged telling ensign repeatedly to end the affair but categorically denies telling ensign or ensign's family to give any money to the hamptons. bret: thanks, trish. some in congress want to make it worth your while to buy a different kind of car. molly hennenberg tells us about the proposed incentives to switch to natural gas. >> california and comuk hood bought his natural gas powered car eight months ago and says it is a great investment and hedge against gas prices. >> even when gas prices were $5 a gallon, the most i paid was $2.80. >> two senators alongside texas energy billionaire t. boone pickens who has been pushing natural gas as a transportation fuel, are introducing legislation to extend tax credits for consumers to buy natural-gas-powered cars an companies that build and fuel them. >> there are 10 million natural gas vehicles on the world's roads but few of them are used in the united states. >> we need an extra push to spur on the greater use of natural

our friend, tom coburn, of oklahoma proposed an amendment to. pour individuals to make healthy decisions by having the c.d.c. establish a web-based prevention tool for personalized prevention plans for individuals which was accepted, as well. we accepted senator hatch's proposal to establish a coordinated environment health tracking net at the centers for disease control. and senator murkowski offered an amendment allowing insurers to rate base on tobacco use specifically, allowing insurers to vary premiums by one to five for use of tobacco. several amendments offered by senator burr and accepted by unanimous consent to ensure the community health insurance option operates on a level playing field with all the insurers and provided a clarification that federal and state laws relating to rating preexisting conditions and fraud and abuse and quality improvement and other provisions providing to these openings, as well. several hatch and senator coburn offered amendments allowing independent insurance agents and brokers be eligible to enough gate w

kyl tends to be right on some of the issues, hatch, grassley and coburn are probably the best bets. what do you think? >> i think you've got that about right. if you look in the past, hatch and grassley in particular have always felt that the capabilities of a candidate were most important, their qualifications. they have always argued that. and in her case, they have clearly not shown she's not qualified to be on the court. so in the end, that will likely be a driving reason for them to lean towards yes. >> i'm watching lindsey graham, because i find him fascinating generally. he's a classic u.s. senator, he could be one of those seed cooley types, the southern gentleman. he said he wants to see something like an apology from her for her comments saying a wise latina would render a better judgment than someone else. she took that back and said that was bad, she shouldn't have said that. do you think he's had his standard met for an apology? >> i suspect that the senator -- senator graham will go back at this issue. i think to him, i mean, all of meez republic these republicans have

during one exchange with republican senator tom coburn from oklahoma, sotomayor brought up the recent d.c. gun control case involving plaintiff richard he h heller. >> we recognize that heller held and it is -- the law of the land right now in the sense of precedence that there is an individual right to bear arms. and as it applies to government federal government regulations. >> senator coburn also tried to press sotomayor on abortion and asked whether roe versus wade is still valid. >> the technologies advanced so far that we can now save children i born prematurely. should that have bearing as we look at the law? >> the law has answered a different question. it talked about the constitutional right of women in certain circumstances. and -- as i indicated the issue becomes one of what is the state regulation in any particular zblishg i understand. but all i'm asking is should it have any bearing? >> i can't answer that in the abstract because the question as it would come before me wouldn't be in -- in the way that you form it. >> there were lighter moments duri today's hearing. sot