senator barrasso, dr. barrasso, i want to go to you first. i want to go to the state of iowa. i want to play for you a question that came up at a town hall for your republican colleague, chuck grassley. i want to hear your thoughts. >> i'm a second-year medical student. if plans like these are going to drastically increase the number of people on plans who result in paying the low medicare reimbursement that we get here in iowa, how are you going to keep future doctors like me and thousands of doctors across the state in iowa? >> senator barrasso, the question, essentially being, in the context of, if you have a public option, will the reimbursement rates be low, like in medicare and medicaid, in that student's opinion, so the doctors, like we've seen in many states, opt out? >> i had that same question just this past friday. physicians are very concerned, because in the past, medicare payers, government's the biggest deadbeat. they don't even pay the ambulance enough to get the patient to the hospital. so there's this dramatic cost shifting that happens in america. but what i

barrasso, the president says any talk of death panels is simply dishonest.you view that as dishonest? senator barrasso, does it hurt your cause if things are being said and distributed that are misleading or take things out of context? >> you don't want anything to be misleading, but you want people to have the facts. in the senate bill, the health committee bill, john, this is it, and it's not been bound together. this is what they came out with in committee four weeks ago. and the reason they haven't bound it together is because they don't want to put a price tag on it. people want to read this. we have the house bill, which is this 1,000-page bill. people want to read what's in the senate health bill, it hasn't been bound together, so that don't have score on it. people can't get a copy of the bill to read, they may come up with ideas that say, gee, what does this really mean? but i think some of this is so poorly put together and written, it can lead to different conclusions. you talk about misleading, yesterday -- you played the tape of the president co

brownback: madam president, i just wanted to get this up for senator barrasso. we will be handling that at a later point in time. i would yield the floor. mr. coburn: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from oklahoma. mr. coburn coburn: coburn: i ass consent that the pending amendment be set aside and amendment2243 be called up. the presiding officer: without objection. the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from observing oh, mr. coburn, proposes an amendment numbered 2243 to amendment number 1908. mr. coburn: i ask unanimous consent the amendment be cred cred as read. cred -- amendment be considered as red. read. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. coburn: madam president, i ask the pending amendment be set aside and amendment 4424 be called up. the presiding officer: without objection. the will report. the clerk: the senator from observing oh, mr. coburnings proposes an amendment numbered 22440 amendment number 1908. on page -- mr. coburn: i ask unanimous consent that that amendment be considered as read. the presiding officer

senator barrasso. >> thank you, madam chairman. unemployment has now hit 9 and a half percent in america, the administration admitted again this week that unemployment will continue to rise. it will continue to rise despite promises that the president's $787 billion stimulus bill would prevent unemployment from reaching even 8 percent and would create or save 3.5 million job. vice president biden has said the administration misread the economy. he is correct. misreading the economy is a serious mistake given the billions we borrowed from china to pay for that stimulus bill. the people depending on this administration to restore the job market paid the price. now some in the majority in congress want to move at breakneck speed to pass a 1500-page cap and trade scheme. should america believe that the 1500-page cap and tax bill will work? supporters are putting a lot on the line by advocating the largest energy tax in the history of america. the burden of the bill will fall on the backs of working americans at a time of high unemploym

barrasso, no. mr. baucus? ey aye. >> what are the political consequences? time for the fix.es tore the politico. talk ethnic politic here's. is this going to be a crashing defeat for republicans? people like mccain and kyle and people out west especially? >> from the obama administration when they put up sotomayor. such a political activist. the republicans had to not go after her and basically, as w h with -- >> your estimation, did they go soft on her? >> not for political reasons. it's fair to vote against someone if you don't believe in her qualifications. she was incredibly qualified and the tone that surrounded her. i remember watching those confirmation hearings. i felt uncomfortable. not only as woman, but also -- >> what about -- >> lindsey graham. started coverage saying, i like hispanics, went after that. that was uncomfortable. as a woman, it was condescending. everyone saw him shaking his finger at her asking if she has the right -- >> but he voted for her? >> he's smart. in the background of the -- >> okay. roger, these guys know all this and voted against the

barrasso: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i have three criteria in evaluating an individual to fill a vacancy on the supreme court. first, select the best candidate for the job. second, the justice must be impartial and allow the facts and constitution to speak. third, a justice's responsibility is to apply the law, not to write it. i've reviewed judge sotomayor's record and i met with her to learn more about her. i want to take a moment to share my thoughts on judge sotomayor's nomination. judge sotomayor has a compelling life story. she was raised in public housing projects in the bronx. she was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age eight. her father died when sheas nine. and she was subsequently raised by her mother. judge sotomayor graduated valedictorian of cardinal spellman high school in the bronx. she graduated summa cum laude from princeton. she earned her juris doctorate from yale law school and there she was an editor of the yale law review. after graduating from law school, the judge worked as an assist