they want to end the health insurance company bureaucracies that are so expensive for families acrossmark. so when the senator from kentucky, the republican leader, comes to the floor and really comes up with a series of criticisms about any attempt at reform, i have a question to ask him: what is your option? what would you do? do you accept the status quo? do you think this is as good it is a can be? i don't. i agree with president obama. we can do better. the president said one last thing that i'm going to say. that he said, if this were easy, it would have been done a long time ago. it's hard. and it'll take bipartisan cooperation for it to succeed. i encourage my colleagues to join in that conversation at the finance committee as well as at the "help" committee and i hope we can produce a product this year that shows we're going to move forward together to make sure we have affordable, quality health care for every american. mr. president, i yield the floor. mr. wyden: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from oregon. mr. wyden: how much time remains on the democratic si