mr. muzinich, and i yield the floor. mr. nelson: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from florida. mr. nelson: madam president, i rise to speak today on a subject that our colleagues here know is very dear to my heart, america's space program. and although this is the last of many, many floor speeches that i've made on that subject, i stand before the senate with a heart full of gratitude, joy, and hope for the future of our space program. i've been extremely privileged to have witnessed and in some cases participated in the extraordinary triumphs of our nation's 60-year quest to explore the heavens. i flew to orbit and marveled at the beauty, fragility, and seemingly peacefulness of mother earth, our planet. i had the honor of that trip with one of the finest crews to have ever flown in america's space program. captain robert gibson, our commander, major general retired charlie bolden, our pilot, who went on to command three missions, hoot having flown five missions, four as commander and of course general bol bolding ultimately bec

session and resume the consideration of the muzinich nomination with the cloture vote ripening at 5:30 p.m. monday. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cornyn: mr. president, if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order. the presiding officer: the senate stands adjourned until 4:00 p.m. on monday. mr. president, this is that time at the end of the congress when inevitably some of our members go on to something else and leave this body. i want to take this opportunity this morning to pay tribute to another distinguished member of the senate who's leaving us at the end of this year. senator bob corker, one of the most hardworking and frankly relentless members of this body. relentless members of this body. . >> always a man on a mission. our distinguished colleague has a long history of impressing senators howard baker, and of course, our colleague lamar alexander. with the great tennessee legacy he met that high bar and set a high himself and with that initiative some and then to dive into the fray and attacking the problem with everything he had. that limitless wor

muzinich of new york to be deputy secretary. a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee. mr. alexander: thank you, madam president. i ask consent to speak for up to 30 minutes. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. alexander: madam president, today i'm asking experts at the american enterprise institute and the brookings institution, as well as other leading health care experts, for specific ideas about how congress and the president can work together to reduce the cost of health care in the united states. here is why. last july at the senate help committee's second in a series of five hearings on reducing health care costs, dr. brent james, a member of the national academy of medicine, testified that 30% and perhaps as much as 50% of all the money spent in this country on health care is unnecessary. that startled me, and i hope it startles you. so i asked another witness, dr. david lanske from the pacific business group on health if he agreed with dr. james' estimate that 50% of all the money spent on health care is unnecessary. dr. lanske said yes. and then at our n

session and resume the consideration of the muzinich nomination with the cloture vote ripening at 5:30 p.m. monday. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cornyn: mr. president, if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order. the presiding officer: the senate stands adjourned until 4:00 p.m. on monday. mr. president,s