barton: i have another parliamentary inquiry. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman will state his parliamentary inquiry. mr. barton: is there a rule of the house that requires a copy of the pending legislation to be present in or near the body? the speaker pro tempore: the chair is not aware of such a rule. mr. barton: beg your pardon? the speaker pro tempore: the chair is not aware of such a rule. mr. barton: so you are not aware of one? the speaker pro tempore: not aware of one. mr. barton: i appreciate the honest answer. i yield one minute to the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. dent, one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized for one minute. mr. dent: thank you, madam speaker. i rise in strong opposition to this national energy tax. this bill is all cost, no benefit. i want to read some exexperts from a letter that was sent from the pennsylvania public utility commission. this bill will have a profound adverse impact on the commonwealth of pennsylvania. if the bill was passed, pennsyl

barton: can i inquire how much time remains? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas has 5 1/4 and the gentleman from california has 13 minutes remaining. mr. barton: the gentleman from california has the right to close? the speaker pro tempore: yes. mr. barton: one more parliamentary inquiry, the leadership on both sides, each is allowed one minute to speak at any time, will that time come out of this debate or does that time come out of the debate on the forbes' amendment? the speaker pro tempore: depends on wart of the debate they're yielded to. mr. barton: could i -- would mr. waxman yield for a question then? i need to know if i need to reserve one minute for mr. boehner to speak or if the speaker and the majority leader are going to speak later and not in this part of the debate. mr. waxman: we're ready to conclude the general debate. we will then move onto the amendment. and in the course of the discussion of the amendment in the nature of a substitute, our leadership plans to speak. and they will close the deba

barton: according to the c.e.o. of mid america energy which serves most of the utility customers in the state of iowa, the bill before us will raise utility prices for every residential customer in iowa $110 a month or $1,320 a year. that is not a job creator in iowa. that is a job killer in iowa. i now want to yield one minute to a distinguished member of the committee from the great keystone state, mr. murphy of pennsylvania, one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized for one minute. mr. murphy: a headline in yesterday 80's pittsburgh paper says more are suffering from the recession, according to the poll. and this is the time to give people in pennsylvania and throughout the united states hope. pennsylvania was built upon energy. we have abundant supplies of coal and natural gas and water and that's why steel is there. we invested in technology labs and we still have hundreds of years of coal. folks, this is the time we need to improve the efficiency of wind and solar so we

barton: mr. speaker, i'm going to yield one minute to the distinguished congresswoman from illinois, a member of the science committee, congresswoman biggert. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. mrs. biggert: mr. speaker, i rise in opposition to the stuart stuart. in my home state of illinois we de-- to the american clean energy and security act. in my home state of illinois, we use a lot of energy. illinois will be hit especially hard. gas prices could rise by 77 cents a gallon and diesel by 88 cents a gallon. this is part of an entirely arbitrary penalty on oil and gas that is passed onto the consumer. h.r. 2454 does little to incentivize a new nuclear production, despite the fact that nuclear power is safe and emissions free. and what it does is grossly inadequate considering the overall goal of this bill. i am deeply concerned also that there is no framework for an international agreement for climate change in this bill. in the absence of the framework and in agreement from

barton: i yield the gentleman 15 seconds. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for 15 seconds. mr. shadegg: those costs get passed on to american consumers. why should we double those costs? my colleagues on the other side want the revenue of the credits that have to be purchased. that money ought to go into the cause. but it won't. i urge my colleagues to vote against the dangerous bill. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california. mr. waxman: i'm pleased to yield for purposes of a colloquy, the distinguished chair of the agriculture committee, mr. peterson. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. peterson: i thank the chairman for his action on this bill and ask him to engage in a colloquy regarding subtitle e, tite 3g, regarding a host of act. these provisions are among those tra triggered referral of h.r. 24454 to the ag committee which has jurisdiction. some of this would deal with over the counter energy derivatives, mirror provisions and legislation, passed by

i owe my life to joe barton. i pray that you will listen to my story and help people like me who are powerless against the big insurance companies. and today when i met mr. brereton that is the very first time i ever met him, he helped me not even knowing me, just as a good man, he helped me. i went to the county hospital, i went everywhere looking for help and you just get on a waiting list and your cancer grows so i want to thank you for listening to me and just please, do something about it because i couldn't even tell you the people i know that have been through this. thank you. >> thanks, ms. beaton. you may want to turn off your microphone for now. now we will turn for questions and i will begin we will go for five minutes probably are now or two per panel. for the three panelists here, i would like your thoughts on information the committee gathered about the economics of rescissions for insurance companies. the three ceos who will testify after you have all made the case the companies use recission as a t

barton told me to the to cash it.they rescinded it back to the -- they wanted nothing to do with me and gave me back every penny that i had ever given them and considered never been insured by them. >> i see. and what about in your brother's situation. was there ever a refund of premium back to the date of the rescission? >> yes. they didn't actually get to that point because it got resolved before they refunded the money but they sent a letter saying you are se as i understanded to the date of original contract which was before my brother had any cancer treatments at all and $200,000 back. so my brother would have had to pay out of pocket over $200,000 in medical expenses. >> but they never got to the point where they sought the refund from your brother? >> again, the $200,000 was the mount that his medical bills oh snee those were subsequent bills? >> right. that would have been what he had to pay out because they were rescinding their contract. and so they were stating that we're rescinding all the way back to the

barton: madam speaker, i want to yield one minute to a member of the committee, dr. gingrey of georgia. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia is recognized for one minute. mr. gingrey: madam speaker, we are at a crossroads. our nation faces significant challenges with unemployment nearing 10% and $1 trillion deficits piling up decades of debt for our children and our grandchildren. however, congressional democrats should not be so short sided to make sure we can't make a bad situation significantly worse by enacting legislation like this bill that will only knock more americans off the assembly line and into the unemployment line. this bill will impose the pelosi global warming tax on every single american household and business, raising home electricity costs, gas prices and annual energy costs by almost $3,000 for every family. and the only reduction will be in our nation's gross domestic product by almost $10 trillion, and in the number of americans employed by the millions. madam speaker, washington cannot save this country. only the american people

barton, to mr. upon the ento the members on the other side of the aisle publicly what i already said to them privately. i would never seek to intimidate or retaliate against a person from having to come in and testify before the sub committee. i value the perspectives all of our witnesses bring. i regret any misunderstanding or misimpressions that the contents of the letter or the timing may have raised. that's why i immediately after learning of the minority concerns prepared a second letter to direct them to respond generically to the questions rather than focusing on mid american. that's why i addressed him directly. which i have done. joe and fred and the other members, i want to let you know i have the personal greatest regard for you. in no way do i want to leave an impression that we would conduct hearings that were not fair and open to all of the members of the sub committee or the witnesses who appear at this meeting. now turn to recognize the gentleman from michigan. mr. upton. >> like man

i turned to the only person i had to turn to and that was joe barton, my congressman. the next day i got a letter cancelling my insurance rescinding it to the first day they had covered me. can you imagine having to walk around with cancer growing in your body with no insurance? it's the most terrible thing in the world to not have anybody to turn to or any anywhere to go. i can't say how bad it was. the sad thing is that blue cross blue shield took my high premiums the very first time i ever had a claim. the very first time and was suspected of cancer. they took action against me, searching high and low. they turned over every single thing they could in my medical history to pull out anything that would cause any suspicion on me. so they didn't have to pay for my cancer. a nurse who attends my church works fulltime for blue cross and blue shield. she looked through medical records searching for reasons to cancel people. she came to me and she said, i feel so bad. i can't tell you how sorry i am this has happened to you. blue cross and blue shield has control over life

barton: i thank the distinguished member of the rules committee. i'd ask unanimous consent to revise and extend, madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. barton: madam speaker, this is the most important economic bill before this house in the last 100 years. and we get under this rule 3 1/2 hours of debate equally divided. i could almost say we have debated ceremonial resolutions longer than this bill if this rule passes. let me give you just two or three reasons to vote against the rule. 400 pages of this bill have never been seen before. . they were literally hot off the xerox machine when they were handed to the rules committee sometime between 2:00 and 3:00 a.m. this morning. that's one reason to vote no on the rule. number two, there is a provision in this revised bill on derivatives that the chairman of thing a committee and the chairman of the financial committee have already said needs to be repealed. but they have agreed to let it be be a part of today's package with the understanding that it will then be

barton's district. i know the witnesses won't be able to answer individually why that happened, but when you lose in the last year we've lost three huge chevy dealerships in the houston market, why we would go in and pick one of the oldest and the only one within the inner city to close, it just kind of boggles my mind. and so with that, mr. chairman, i'll yield back my time and i appreciate you calling this hearing. and like other members, i'm getting ready to go down to the transmission hearing down in the room below us but i'll be back. thank you. >> thanks, mr. green. mr. doyle for an opening statement, please. 3 minutes. >> thanks, mr. chairman. thanks for holding this hearing and i want to thank you personally for allowing jim goalic from goalic jeep chrysler a constituent of mine and someone in my district for allowing him to testify today. i didn't have a prepared statement, mr. chairman. i just want to make a few comments. my friend joe barton says maybe we're in a new era and i fear that maybe

barton got my insurance reinstated and i was able to have insurance with the original dr. you went to have insurance with. >> i appreciate that and i believe that is continuity of care and i believe that is important. again, the other aspect is largely a part of our discussion today but it is part of our broader discussion as we talk about strategies for the future. i want to thank every one of our panelists for being here today. ms. beaton i did not give to you because i didn't have an opportunity but thank you for your testimony too. was all very important today. thank you mr. chairman. i yield back. >> mr. gingrey for questions. >> mr. chairman i'm going to direct my question to ms. beaton. in my pronouncing that right? >> it does not matter. it is a hard name. >> miss beaton, we of course heard and listened very intently to your testimony and quite compelling. i wanted to take one quote from your written testimony and i think he said, when you get on a waiting list, the cancer grows and i think that was in reference to the fact, as you just testified to dr. burgess, th

barton i took your time. >> if this is the hypothetical but i just want to figure out what the answeris. i had a mild heart attack three i had a mild heart attack three years ago so i now take and i'm going to probably have to take those medications for the rest of my life. i am covered under a group plan, blue cross/blue shield of texas and it is available to every federal employee who lives in texas and mike coverage has been good. i have never had a problem. but let's say i quit the congress, and i going to business for myself and i try to get a private health plan like ms. beaton got when she switched jobs from being a nurse and went into business for herself. on the application, i have to list the medications that i am taking, the fact that i had a heart attack, give the doctor that time, the location, but i broke my leg playing football in high school. i got a 250 lb-- i with a linebacker. if i forget to put all my application with your companies that i had my, this small bone in my left leg broken playing football in 1967, but i do put all my medications and my history of my he

barton had not had time to see it. i didn't want to say mr. barton approved it. so i made it part of my opening statement. >> i appreciate that. >> thank you. >> in the future i hope we can work those things out in advance as we have in most hearings in the past. >> i agree. >> today's hearing is the second in a series of hearings investigating the individual health insurance market. approximately 16 million americans have individual health insurance policies. once people apply and are issued their insurance cards, they breathe a sigh of relief and figure their health cares are covered. unfortunately that sigh of relief may turn into a frenzied panic if the friday before a monday a patient is to undergo a double mastectomy she receives a call from her insurance company saying her insurance has been canceled will no longer pay any claims. this is what happened to one of our witnesses here today, [ applause ] robin beaton. we'll also hear from mr. horton and mr. raddatz where the threat or actual termination of insurance policies cause pain, frustration and great e

barton. >> thank you mr. chairman. i want to thank you and chairman waxman for holding this hearing and thank you personally for agreeing to let mr. frank backer who is a dealer in my district testify and also thank you for being willing to put a statement in the record of congressman allowed to read to isn't a member of the committee but has asked to sit on the diocese and you indicated you except unanimous consent to allow his statement into the record so i appreciate all of those courtesies. in mr. chairman, i have a prepared statement and i will submit for the record. but i want to just kind of speak extemporaneously. i see both sides of this issue, i have a gm assembly plant in my district in arlington, texas that has been in business since 1954. 2400 people that workfare. mannesmann about 250, and the uaw workers around 2200. they have been making cars and trucks in arlington, texas are over 50 years. i've got dealers all over my district about a dozen of which have received closure or termination or failure to r

barton got my insurance reinstated and i got the original doctor. >> and i appreciate that. i believe in continuity of care and believe that that's important. again, the other aspect does not really be a part of the discussion today but it's part of the broader discussion as we talk about strategies for the future. i want to thank every one of you for being here today. ms. horton, i didn't get to you. it's not that i was afraid but i didn't have an opportunity. thank you for your testimony. it was all very important today. thank you, mr. chairman. i'll yield back. >> mr. chairman, thank you. i'll direct my questions to ms. baiten. am pr am i pronouncing it right? >> it doesn't matter. >> ms. baiten, we heard and listened very intensely to your testimony and quite compelling and i wanted to take one quote from your written testimony and i think you said when you get on a waiting list cancer grows. and i think that was in reference to the fact that as you just testified to doctor burgess that you were on that waiting list at the county hospital. there was an alternative but, t

barton where the threat caused pain, frustration and great expense. we may be here to discuss valid viewpoints of rescission and other corporate

congressman barton. >> thank.epublicans believe that if you need health care you go see your doctor or nurse, don't go see a government bureaucratic. our basic premise is we want to work within the existing market structure. we don't want to create a new federal bureaucracy, new federal mandates. that only cause more problems. the energy and commerce committee will begin to meet next week. chairman waxman has said he will have three hearings on healthcare next week. we will be engaged this those. if and when the democrats decide to go to mark-up, we will have a republican amendments and alternatives as part of the comprehensive package that is being talked about today. as has already been said, we believe that we need to reform medica medicaid, we need to reform schip. we believe we should give people the right, the option, if they want to take the amount that we pay for medicaid and s-ship and get a -- s-clchip we would give them the premium assistance to do that. we believe we need to take pressure off medicaid

barton, for opening statement, please? >> thank you, mr. chairman. this is my month for witnesses from texas. last week we had the owner of carlisle chevrolet. today we have miss robin beaton, who is a citizen of walksahatchie. so i want to extend to her the very best wishes and let her and the other two panelists on this first panel know that there's nothing to be afraid of. you speak for tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of american citizens. and the country is very interested through the auspices of this hearing to hear your story. we appreciate all three of you being here. this is an important hearing. it addresses part of the need to reform our health care system. we're going to hear today about a problem under the current system that can occur in the handling of individual health insurance policies when claims are actually submitted for coverage under those policies. as i just said, i want to extend a warm welcome to our first panel of witnesses, each of you has a personal story that you wish to share. and we know that it's a stor

barton. >> thank you mr. chairman, i will be very brief. we support their being legislative hearing and hearing on his safety. we think it is time to digest this problem in a bipartisan fashion it at all possible and to think it is important we try to get right it at all possible. we understand that it is your wish and the full committee chairman swished and former chairman dingell's wished to move with legislation sometime this month, republicans are ready to help. if we can't agree on a bill that provides a the fda with the tools that it needs to ensure the safety of our food supply, but we will not support new blanket authority is that are designed merely to empower the bureaucracy. nearly everybody says that quote, we cannot inspector way to safety, and many systems that reliably prevent sickness by applying resources in those places that are most susceptible to contamination. the draft before us proposes several areas to strengthen prevention of food analyst outbreak, such as requiring all manufacturers to have food safety plans and al

barton's remarks. the information is yours. when you make a phone call no matter who it is, you don't expect at&t or verizon to share the information with somebody else. can you imagine if you ordered a pizza on the phone and all of a sudden you get different pizza companies then coming in knowing that you're going to be subscribing to. that that information is personal. it shouldn't be shared unless that individual allows and knows that it's going to be shared. it needs to be protected. it's nobody's business. don't expect to have someone follow you in your car when you go make an errand, whether it be to a dry cleaner or wherever you might go, and expect some competitor then to perhaps get the information to trace you back. so this is a great hearing. i look forward to it. and i yield back the balance of my time. >> the chair thanks the gentleman. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from georgia, mr. barrow, for two minutes for the purposes of opening statements. >> i thank the chairman. i'm going to waive my opening but i

. >> we also talked with joe barton, former chairman of the energy commerce committee and now ranking republican member on the committee and has been a critic of the extension from january, i'm sorry, february until now, june, and we talked with him a little bit about the dtv transition. >> are we more prepared now for the digital transition demint feb? >> not really. to the extent we are going to be totally prepared we were prepared then and we will be about as prepared now. statistically, i think we are 1.7% more prepared now than we were back in february which means instead of about 97% we are going to be about 98.9%. but there are going to be a couple% of the population now matter what time we put the date they are going to wake up on the day of the transition and say we've gone all digital today. so i think it should have happened back in february. the president's father wise so they put off for 90 days. the transition date is coming up in june in a couple of weeks and almost everybody in the country will be totally ready but there will be a couple percentage points which transla

barton from energy and commerce, mr. mckeon from the workforce committee, generally brown-waite and charles boustany are going to come and talk about elements of the plan. we'll be working with the grafting -- drafting folks on and hopefully have -- while we're almost always last in line with the resources available in the congress these days, we're going to be working hard now to bring these concepts into legislative language as quickly as we can. mr. kemp. >> thank you, roy. dave camp from michigan. thank you for your leadership on the solutions group. i want to thank leader boehner and whip eric cantor for their leadership on this issue, as well as all my colleague here and those who aren't here to really make it possible for us to come forward with an american solution to health care. the president said this should have a uniquely american solution. we have an american plan. one that we believe has been said will really focus on affordability, accessibility and availability. and the question is, how do we do that? we

barton: thank you, madam speaker. i ask unanimous consent that the ranking member of the agriculture committee, mr. lucas of oklahoma, control the first 15 minutes of the debate on the minority side. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. mr. lucas: thank you, madam speaker. i thank the gentleman from texas. thank you, madam speaker. and i thank the gentleman and i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. lucas: thank you, madam speaker. the waxman-markey bill promises to destroy our standard of living and quality of life with higher energy costs, higher food prices and loss of jobs. the bill is the single largest economic threat to our farmers and ranchers in decades. we have more than 115 agricultural and food groups who have publicly opposed this bill as of today. madam speaker, i'd ask that the list be entered into the record at the appropriate place. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so

with the commission's william lake, congressman joe barton, weta television station manager kevin harris and erica swanson an activist group coordinator. tonight at 8:00 eastern, the communicators on c-span2. >> how is c-span funded? >> private donations? >> taxpayers. >> i don't really know. >> from public television. >> donations. >> i don't know where the money comes from. >> federally. >> contributions from donors. >> 30 years ago america's cable companies created c-span as a public service, a private business initiatives, no government mandate, no government money. >> topics at today's pentagon briefing include the investigation of a battle in afghanistan last month that killed civilians. we also get reaction to the ongoing offensive against the taliban in pakistan. spokesman geoff morrell speaks with reporters for about 40 minutes. >> good afternoon. could to see you all especially after being away for a few weeks. just if you scheduling announcements and then i will be glad to take your questions. tomorrow morning secretary gates and chairman mullen testified before the senate app

congressman joe barton, the television station manager, kevin harris, and erica swanson, an activist coordinator. at 8:00 eastern, the communicators on c-span2. a discussion on the relationship between security and privacy concerns in the digital age. this is part of of conference on civil liberties hosted by the association for computing machinery. it is about 1:15. >> all rise. hon. justices of the supreme court of illinois. >> please be seated. we have one incase for argument this morning in the matter of the context of general elections on november 4th, 2008, for the purpose of electing united states senator from the state of minnesota. mr. friedburg, you have reserved 10 minutes for rebuttal. you may receive -- proceed when you are ready. >> may it please the court, i represent -- let me begin by saying minnesota is quite different from many states. we have problems within our institutions and when we do we deal with them candidly and openly. we don't minimize them or sweep them under the rug to be discovered by federal torrent. that is why finding that 47 of the trial court is

congressman joe barton and an activist group coordinator. tonight at 8:00 p.m. eastern on the communicators on c-span to. >> now a conversation about the obama administration, and its approach to executive pay. >> this story broke on friday about the white house appointing a pay czar. why are they naming somebody to this post? >> i think there has been a lot of pressure. there have been hundreds of billions of dollars into the financial industry, and you are seeing the same greedy behavior they have always exhibited. in recent years, there has been a problem with greed. make sure the company'ies who gt assistance from the government, that they comply. host: will he oversee all the executive pay for companies that get federal bail out? guest: especially those who come back a couple of times, he will be able to take a close look and approve or disapprove, and request changes from what we heard. four other companies that have received funds from the tar tar program, -- tarp program, they will face restrictions. the obama administration has been trying -- it is a de

barton: thank you, madam speaker. i want to yield three minutes to the distinguished minority whip, mr. cantor of virginia. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia is recognized for three minutes. mr. cantor: thank you, madam speaker. i thank the gentleman. there's one thing everyone this chamber should be able to agree on, we need to focus on job creation and relieve the burden on middle class families, not on middle class families, not increasing it. >> according to an mit study, the legislation will force middle-class americans to pay as much as $3,100 in high prices every year. the epa estimates that a family of four will pay an additional average of $1,100 each year. the impact on jobs is equally dismal. a cra study finds the legislation will cost america 2.3 million jobs. at a time when many workers are losing their jobs every month, in a midst of a severe recession, why would we even contemplated plan that amount to a millstone around the neck of small businesses and all american consumers? it is n

of that when you consider this recent fourth circuit court of appeals decision that ranking member bartonmentioned which does make it more difficult for ferc to operate in this area. i do think we have some significant issues, and i hope this hearing can help us decide those. i yield back the balance of time. >> the time has expired and the chair recognizes the gentle lady from wisconsin, miss baldwin, for an opening statement. >> thank you, mr. chairman. transmission is critical to our nation's electrical system, and i certainly support grid expansion. i have significant concerns, however, about many of the recent federal proposals that jeopardize state and regional efforts to develop the transmission grid. specifically, these efforts ignore progress and may actually slow investments being made in states like wisconsin and others in the midwest. over the last seven years my home state of wisconsin -- the wisconsin rate payers have supported more than $2 billion in investments in our transmission system. these actions have and will continue to improve reliability and increase the flow of

. >> congressman barton, the president has proposed about $660 billion in savings from the current medicare and medicaid program. this is an addition to proposing revenue enhancers' -- >> that is over a 10-year period. >> yes sir and i think your estimate is -- >> per year. >> i do not know the numbers accurately. i assume that your 20 million is within the ballpark. i just can tell you that whenever proposal comes forward, the president has insisted that it still will be paid for. >> you are a former governor. is that not correct? >> yes, sir. >> kansas? >> kansas. >> governor of kansas. this kansas have a but we have a state budget requirement? >> yes. >> when you are the government of kansas, by law, you had to submit pay-fors when you did a budget that had money. >> we spend money within the revenues we had. >> yes. my numbers may not be the number, but they are definitely in the ballpark. if i give the president the benefit of a doubt that there are out there $600 billion over 10-years and savings, $60 billion a year, this one expansion in medicaid is still $60 billion a year short. yo

. >> we also talked with joe barton. he is the chairman and now he is ranking republican on that panel. we talked about it him about the transition. >> are we more prepared for the digital transition and we were in february? >> not really. a to the extent that we will be totally prepared, we were prepared then and we will be about as prepared now. statistically, i think we are more prepared than we were back in february. . we're going to be about 98.9% ready. no matter what time we put the day, they will wake up the day of the transition. they were looking back in february and the president put it off for 90 days. that is coming up in june in a couple of weeks. almost everybody in the country will be totally ready. there will be a couple percentage points was translates into 2-3 million tv sets that are not ready to go. >> your district is both urban and rural. what are you seeing? >> most people are cognizant of it and they are ready to go. " statistically, the dallas-fort worth area is one of the more unprepared. there

barton said, just for laughs, he said i help chrysler and general motors review some of these dealerships and maybe some of these things can be reversed. in all honesty because you went through bankruptcy there's no way for these chrysler dealerships being closed to get their cars dealerships back is their? >> that is correct and my answer is we would be transparent and share the information -- >> but we have got to be honest. none of these gentlemen are going to get their dealerships -- >> that is correct. >> and there was no process to get the dealerships back. >> that's correct. >> that's the bankruptcy, those contracts were broke therefore you don't have to offer them anything else; correct? the dealerships, the contractors were broken, they were done, bankruptcy discharged them. >> but we took responsibility for the redistribution of the inventory is. >> said that is all bothers me. that is old chrysler. those are old chrysler parts. how can the new chrysler if it isn't a link to give these gentlemen appeal process how can the new chrysler take stuff that was old chrysler? it seems l

william blake, congressman joe barton, television station manager kevin harrison, and erica swanson,ivist group coordinator. we will have that tonight at 8:00 eastern. the communicator's on c-span2. we have more live events later with national intelligence director dennis blair. he is speaking to the national security alliance. you can see that live at 8:30 p.m. eastern after the communicators on c-span2. >> how is c-span funded? >> private donations? >> i don't really know. >> public television. >> donations. >> i don't know where the money comes from. >> contributions from donors. >> 30 years ago america's cable companies created c-span as a public service, a private business initiative, no government mandate, no government money. >> last thursday the national governor's association announced their findings that states are facing the steepest budget cuts in at least 30 years. spending is projected to fall for the second year in a row. more on the state of the state. this is about 40 minutes. >> good morning ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the fiscal survey conference call. at this

congressman barton. >> thank you. republicans believe that if you need health care, you does your doctor or nurse, did not go see a government bureaucrat. our basic premise is, we want to work within the existing market structure. we do not want to create new federal mandates or barack receives -- or bureaucracies. we will begin to meet next week. chairman waxman says he will have three hearings on health care next week. we will be engaged in those if and when they decide -- will be engaged in those. if and when the democrats decide to go and marked up, will be there as part of the comprehensive package. we believe we need to reform medicaid. we need to reform schip. we believe we should give people the right, the option, if they take the amount -- we would give them the premium assistance to do that. we believe we need to take pressure off of medicaid by creating incentives for long- term health care so we have got some proposals that will do that. . people should be able to put it -- a former -- form associations. w

the commission's william blake, congressman joe barton, station manager kevin harris, and erica swanson, activist group portrait appeared tonight at 8:00 p.m. eastern, a "of the communicators" on c-span2. >> still time to get your copy of c-span pocket 2009 congressional director, with affirmation on house and senate members, cabinet, supreme court justices, and the nation's governors, plus district maps and how to contact committees and caucuses. it is $16.95, on line at c- span.org/products, or call