vermont -- vermont, senator bernie sanders held out for larger medicaid payments for his state. neighboring massachusetts would get one too. i guess there's a number of maybe states that should have stickers on them so that the american people can see where these special deals were cut o

independent senator bernie sanders. this is just under 10 minutes. >> thank you very much.e senator from maryland, who wanted to say a few words on one aspect of this legislation. in the midst of the overall crisis in america, there is one crisis focused on, the crisis in primary health care. that means some 60 million americans today do not have access to a doctor on a regular basis. what that and that meaning is that when people get sick, they end up in the emergency room. or they become sicker than they should have banned and end up in the hospital, a great personal suffering and pain, and somehow even death. we supported by a thousand americans who died because we do not get to it got them on a regular basis. what this manages to do is add $10 billion more over a five- year time into community health centers. what that means is that an additional 25 million americans will also have access to federally qualified health centers, meaning high quality health care, low-cost drugs, and health counseling. it also means because of a significant increase in health services, we w

bernie sanders' system is far better than this one. far better than this one. if that's what we're going to do, if we're going to ration care to control costs, let's let everybody know upfront. let's be absolutely honest about it. if you're 75 years of age and you need a hip replacement but the quality of your life is not all that great, we're going to say you can't have it. that's what we're going to do because that's exactly what they do in england. they have the national institute of comparative effectiveness and makes an evaluation of what your worth is. and no matter what your history is, no matter what your family situation is, no matter what your income, you can't have it. now, canada's getting around that because they've said, you get the right to buy what you want. their supreme court ruled 2 1/2 years ago. and so what we're seeing is a two-tier system now developing in canada which ultimately will happen in this country worse than what we have today. mr. ensign: if the senator would yield, though, if america does this with our health care system, wher

independent senator bernie sanders. this is just under 10 minutes. >> thank you very much.america, there is one crisis focused on, the crisis in primary health care. that means some 60 million americans today do not have access to a doctor on a regular basis. what that and that meaning is that when people get sick, they end up in the emergency room. or they become sicker than they should have banned and end up in the hospital, a great personal suffering and pain, and somehow even death. we supported by a thousand americans who died because we do not get to it got them on a regular basis. what this manages to do is add $10 billion more over a five- year time into community health centers. what that means is that an additional 25 million americans will also have access to federally qualified health centers, meaning high quality health care, low-cost drugs, and health counseling. it also means because of a significant increase in health services, we will be forgiving debts for students going into primary care. in recent years, it has had a -- 20,000 more doctors, teachers, and

caller: i want to make a comment about bernie sanders, who i saw on c-span yesterday.fool of himself. i agree with what tom coburn did. any bill that is over 100 pages should be read out loud by the clerk. that is what they're prepared to do, by senators and representatives, so we know what is an adult but i agree with a tow -- so we know what is in the bill. i agree with tom coburn. is it true that they cannot mandate anything on the american people, and only states can do that? that is all. thank you. guest: not a constitutional scholar. a belief -- i believe there are lots of mandates on individual americans prepar. mandates and requirements for american citizens -- there is broad agreement that the federal government does have power is an individual state governments don't have them. -- does have powers that individual state governments don't have. senator cohen wanted to four spokes to see what was at -- senator tom coburn wanted it to force folks to see was in senator sanders' amendment. this would have been the first time that a single payer universal health car

[applause] >> in a few moments, vermont senator bernie sanders on his opposition to ben bernanke serving a second term as the head of the federal reserve. and about half an hour, the house debate on bill that supporters say it will create new jobs and help workers keep the jobs that they have now. after that, a hearing on the unintentional release of documents from the transportation security administration. and later, we will be aired the speeches from some of the delegates to the u.n. climate change conference in denmark. on washington journal tomorrow morning, we will discuss health care and climate change with democratic senator jeff bingaman of new mexico. kerry bernstein, economic adviser to vice president biden, will focus on green jobs. we will talk about defense spending with republican representative jack kingston of georgia. and a reporter looks at the debate on health care and other issues. washington journal is live on c- span every day at 7:00 a.m. eastern. >> booktv this weekend. timothy carney suggesting that president obama is really an advocate of wall street. get the e

when this is finally passed, their ultimate goal is bernie sanders.ybody knows that the american people don't want the government's standing between them and their doctor. we have got that already in terms of rationing of medicare. the purpose was to make sure that people get to see the contrast. the other purpose was to delay as long as possible this bill so that we don't saddle the americans with another $2.50 trillion worth of government over the next 10 years. host: senator coburn, are you still a practicing physician? guest: i am. host: are you still delivering babies? guest: i am not. is the first year i have not been paid increase malpractice insurance. -- i have not been. increased malpractice insurance. host: let's get to our calls for senator tom coburn. marietta, california, howard of the republican line. caller: thank you, thank you. senator, i just enjoy it as amended of your -- just enjoy every minute of your debate on the senate floor. guest: well, you are up awful early. caller: i am retired. to avoid yard work, i try to get a little t

and hurray for bernie sanders, the independent from vermont.ll, guess what he got? $10 billion, and that was for federally-funded health care centers, they care for you, if you do not have health insurance it pays for what you can w3afford and based on your income, and it gives scholarships to fund health ç care workers who need health care clinics. he is my idol, he did not put in a gun law, he did not restrict women's rights, he's working for the american people and i thank him. host: chad, the independent line in seattle. caller: good morning. host: is health care being rushed? caller: yeah, you look at obama's speech, you can tell right away, his lips are moving but you can tell he's lying. when someone walks away, they say, what about the option. host: the public option. caller: yeah, and he walks away. yeah, he was lying the whole time. if he really cared about çpubl health care, there wouldn't be an expansion in afghanistan, $500 billion. that would have taken care of everything. and this trillion, bernanke, he keeps expanding to $2 bi

thanks very much. >> independent senator bernie nelson along -- bernie sanders.yland senator ben carden on health care. president obama is expected to address the media on the health care bill today. that will happen about 1:30 eastern and we'll have life coverage of that here on c-span. and with an apparent agreement on health care reached in the senate, we'll go back and hear from senator ben nelson, he was the democrat's lone holdout. here are his remarks now on his decision. this is about 25 minutes. >> i really want to make the statement from the podium here and i'll try to answer the questions. it's not going to be about the manager's package, it's going to be about the things that i worked on that i think are important and try to keep my focus there, because they're still doing the manager's package in there and i ought not to be the one to make the announcements about it. well, let me say at the outset change is never easy. but change is what's necessary in america today and that's why i intend to vote for cloture and vote for health care reform. on the f

and today, vermont independent senator bernie sanders-- who has put a hold on bernanke's nomination--ontinued his push to have the chairman replaced. >> one of key functions of the fed is to oversee soundness. and all around him was wild speculation, gambling type taking place. where was ben bernanke when this was happening? >> reporter: the nation's top banker has taken extraordinary actions-- using the fed's power in novel ways to pump trillions of dollars into the financial system. last year, amid debate over the wall street bailout, he answered critics who said the government should let the crisis take its course. >> why don't we allow free market system to correct itself? >> my response is that the pain would be very significant, it would be very difficult for main street, if this credit system broke down, it would be very costly to average people. here's a better solution. the better solution is to recognize that things went wrong, we've got a problem that we can solve if we address it with enough force. >> reporter: bernanke defended his use of that force again at his senate co

president george bush was a great champion of community health centers an bernie sand -- and bernie sanders in this bill is making sure that we get a very significant increase. thousands of new clinics. so are opportunities for democrats and republicans to work together. i'm going to talk about a way we can create a new marketplace in american health care through these exchanges and get more value for the health care dollar, again, focusing on the opportunity that we see with community health centers for democrats and republicans to team up. and i thank my colleague for his statement. mr. president, and i know because of our work together on health legislation, you share my view that we can continue this effort to bring the senate together, both sides, around key principles of health reform. and i want to do that again this morning by focusing on one of the most transformational and least understood parts of the health care debate. and that is the question of the health insurance exchanges. now, my guess is across the country people are trying to figure out what in the world these are and i

one of our great senators here, bernie sanders of vermont, has been a clarion voice on behalf of community health clinics. he knows as we all do that these clinics placed in cities and towns across america are a lifeline to low-income people so they have primary care at a fraction of the cost of a visit to an emergency room. good care. i've seen them. i've visited them. the erie clinic in chicago, alivio medical clinic in chicago. good, clean, modern clinics with people dedicated to health care and dentistry who can help these people. we envision 10,000 more community health clinics as a result of this bill, at least 10,000, and thousands of primary physicians to be there to help. and that will mean that we will be creating across america a network of care and peace of mind for people who otherwise have few places, if any, to turn. i think the day will come soon when this bill, after it's passed, will become evident to america in terms of what we set out to do and what we achieved. and if history serves as it has in the past, many of today's critics will not dwell on the fact that they vot

george bush, president george bush was a great champion of community health centers and bernie sanders now in this bill is making sure that we get a very significant increase, thousands of new clinics. so there are opportunities for democrats and republicans to work together and i'm going to talk about a way we can create a new market place in american health care through these exchanges and get more value for the health care dollar, and focusing on the opportunity that we see with community health centers for democrats and republicans to team up, and i thank my colleague for his statement. mr. president, and i know because of our work together on health legislation, you share my view that we can continue this effort to bring the senate together on both sides around the key principles of health reform, and i want to do that again this morning by focusing on of one of the most transformational and least understood parts of the health care debate, and that is the question of the health insurance exchanges. my guess is across the country people are still trying to figure out what in the w

>> it means that bernie sanders does not want ben bernanke to be fed chairman and he is making it known. what it means is that he will need 60 votes for the confirmation to happen. what is interesting is that some of the objections to ben bernanke come from the right and the left. you suspect that they are doing to be just as eager to not vote for him. host: congressman ron paul has been a longtime vocal critic of the fed. sounds like more people are ascribing to that? >> that is true, they have done many things over last couple of years, bailing out during the crisis, efforts to prop up wall street, as well as regulatory failings that go a farther away. there are a lot of different concerns going around. all of that and the fact that we are in a big recession is enough to make ben bernanke less popular than he might have been. host: at the same time, should judge greg has announced support. >> that is right. it looks like ben bernanke is likely to be extended into a second term. it will take 60 votes, but there is a solid middle of the senate who seem to respect the guy, that he has do

. >> first of all, bernie sanders is honest. he has the courage of his convictions.d us and the rest of the american people to see what it was going to be like when you get this health care bill that nobody has seen yet, expect the leader, when it's finally passed, their ultimate goal is bernie sanders. they won't say that publicly. it's dead last year. everybody is denying that now. the american people don't want the government standing between them and their doctor. we have that already in the terms of rationalling of the medicare. the purpose was to make sure that people get to see the contrast. the other purpose was is to delay as long as possible this bill so that we don't saddle the americans with another $2.5 trillion worth of government. >> senator, are you still a practicing physician? >> i am. >> host: are you delivering babies? >> i am not this is the first year. >> host: why? >> increased malpractice? >> host: can we ask how much? >> if i had practiced and delivered 100, it would have been $80,000. >> host: $80,000. republican line you are first up. >> ca

in a little more than an hour and a half, vermont center bernie sanders explains why he put a hold onthe nomination of ben bernanke to another term as head of the federal reserve. after that, chairman bernanke testifies before the senate banking committee at a reconfirmation hearing. he is expected to be approved for another four-year term. on "washington journal" tomorrow morning, the role of the federal reserve. retired general in george joulwan will take your questions about nato's role in afghanistan. lou frey will talk about his book, "political rules of the road." plus a discussion of today's white house job summit. "washington journal" is live on c-span every day at 7:00 a.m. eastern. >> as we get better and better at what we do, we are run in ever increasing risk of over confidence and arrogance. . . [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2009] >> good afternoon, everyone. i want to thing president obama for asking me to be here today and convening this form. i also want to thank all of you for joining us on this vital discussion for jobs and economic growth. of th

the way you have to persuade or influence, let's say a senator like bernie sanders from vermont is differenthan lobbying senator hatch from the state of utah. you have to know the differences. and that's one of your jobs. and you have to know about what procedures might be used in terms of moving something. externally, you probably have to come up with a good communication strategy in order to try to win support, how do you move public opinion and move grassroots support in order to move your idea and stop a bad idea from going through the process. couple of other points and i'll stop on this and see if you have any questions and that is theories of lobbying. this is a little more academic. scholars and others have always been worried about this issue of when does the prime interest might sort of overwhelm the public interest, this sort of conflict. they try to get a better grip from the theoretical perspective just what are lobbyists engaged in. we have so far three prominent different kinds of theories. one is called the exchange theory and this is the idea that lobbyists are able to provi

was very positive reaction the day after we came out after the plan with positive reaction from bernie sanders and joe lieberman. that says it is alive. >> in the last -- [talking over each other] >> mrs. roberts, seventh grade. >> impressive. >> in the last 48 hours there have been a lot of concerns about the medicare from senator lieberman and other moderates, hospitals, doctors. is there a hostility among have to drop that idea? >> we are going to wait. when people see the details they are going to be pretty happy with it. and i think many of the concerns that have been voiced which are legitimate, i believe when we get a score and people see the details -- >> a question about those little problems. the amendment fell on the floor all week and i want to ask is that stuff on the floor because it breaks up the field and there is a worry that there are enough votes? >> it has been championed for a very long time. there are concerns, people have always had legitimate concerns on that issue about making sure senator menendez has consistently -- that the drugs that come into this country are safe

thing i'll mention before i sit down, i want to salute you, senator wyden, as well as senator bernie sandersof vermont, for one particular provision in here. we don't have the details yet, but we believe that this will result in the most dramatic expansion of health care clinics across america. those of us who represent communities like chicago and even down state illinois, know that these clinics are the first line for medicine. that men and women can walk through the front door and find primary care and have their needs taken care of even if they're poor. some of the most dedicated hard-working professionals in medicine are in those clinics. i have said to people there, the director at one, said, carmen, if i were sick or my wife were sick, i would feel confident walk through your door. i ask consent that the record include an article from this morning's "chicago sun-times" that talks about the terrible health care disparities in the united states, particularly between african-americans and white americans. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: in heart disease deaths in 19

vermont -- vermont, senator bernie sanders held out for larger medicaid payments for his state. neighboring massachusetts would get one too. i guess there's a number of maybe states that should have stickers on them so that the american people can see where these special deals were cut o out. and the american people, the majority of the population of this country can see where they were not, and they're going to pay more while those states pay less because not just their location but because they happen to be behind closed doors and cut special deals. mr. baucus: mr. president, i wonder if i could enter this colloquy just very briefly? mr. mccain: sure. sure. we'd welcome it. mr. baucus: i thank the senator. mr. mccain: i ask unanimous consent. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection, so ordered. mr. baucus: i thank my colleague. i appreciate that. i just wanted to point out that, do the senators know, for example, that under the underlying legislation that the federal government would pay all the costs of newly eligible enrollees through the year 2016? that

so senator coburn's recommendation forced the clerk to read an amendment offered by vermont's bernie sanders in its entirety which was problematic in a way because for the democrats because the amendment was almost 800 pages long so there were several hours of the senate clerk reading through the amendment which was gobbling up precious for time. >> how common is it for senators to ask an amendment or bill be asked to read in its entirety? >> it happens from time to time but it's on common. the senate rule requiring a bill to be fred is almost routinely waived. >> can we expect to see more of this kind of tactic? >> we can. republicans are threatening to potentially ask to have a manager's amendment which still has not been fully crafted but the majority leader harry reid is working the next day or so. republicans say they may call to have that amendment which could be several hundred pages read aloud as well. >> let's take quick look how the reading ended. >> sections and t-note to repeal of certain provisions in the employee retirement income security act of 1974. >> the senator from vermo

senator who bernie sanders says he plans to loan -- to put all hold on ben bernanke. >> today we meetng before the committee, mr. ben bernanke, the undersecretary for transportation, cameras the to be -- marissa for the u.s. department of treasury and the assistant treasury for public affairs. we have a public forum. let me ask the vice of my colleagues. -- the vice of my colleagues. -- advice of my colleagues. unless someone would like to object, i would like to move those three and then move to the ben bernanke nomination. if anyone know would like to comment one way or the other? i would mess with unanimous consent to fifth consider -- consent to consider the nominations. if there is any objection? if not, all those signify by saying aye. ayes appeared to have it. now we continue with discussion of ben bernanke. i want to give everyone a chance to be heard on this. som i know are going to want more time than others to comment on this. obviously, to vote these nominations we need a quorum president, and the majority have to vote. we cannot vote by proxy for the nominee. i want to gi

vermont, senator bernie sanders held off for a larger medicaid payments for states neighboring massachusetts would get one, too. i guess there's a number of mabey states that should have stickers so that the american people can see where these special deals were cut out and the american people, the majority of the population of this country can see where they were not and they are going to pay more while those states payless because not just their location but because they happen to be behind closed doors and cut special deals. >> mr. president on wonder if i can enter this colloquy very briefly. i thank the center. >> i ask unanimous consent. >> without objection so ordered. >> i just want to point out do the senators no flexible that under the underlying legislation the government would pay all costs newly eligible enrollees' through 2016. that is in this legislation we are talking about the so-called expansion population. that is those between 100% of poverty and medicaid and the 133% of poverty medicaid and under the underlying statute all -- speed let me ask the senator does that mean a

in about 40 mince, vermont senator bernie sanders affirms his opposition to ben bernanke serving a secondterm as head of the federal reserve. after that, house debate on a bill that supporters say would create new jobs and help those keep the jobs they have now. when that is over, house speaker nancy pelosi talks about what the members accomplished this year. on "washington journal" tomorrow morning, we'll discuss health care and climate change with democratic senator jeff bingaman. jared bernstein will focus on so-called green jobs. we'll talk about defense spending with jack kingston of georgia and john bresnahan looks at the senate debate on health care and other issues. a couple of live events to tell you about tomorrow. the senate homeland security and governmental affairs committee looks at our economic future, including spending, debt and deficits. witnesses include former federal reserve chairman aidan greenspan at 10:00 a.m. alan greenspan at 10:00 a.m. eastern. >> still in time for the holidays, american icons on d.v.d. c-span's three original documentaries on the iconic homes o

particularly bernie sanders and representative jim clyburn.re grateful for all that you've done. [applause] and i especially want to recognize the leaders here today from health septemberers across the country -- centers across the country for what all of you are doing in your communities everyday. working long hours to provide quality care at prices people can afford with the dignity and respect they deserve and in athat takes into account the challenges they face in their lives. for you folks health care isn't just about diagnosing patients and treating illness, it's about caring for people and promoting wellness. it's about emphasizing education and prevention and helping people lead healthier lives so they don't get sick in the first place. and it works. studies show he that people living near a health center are less likely to go to the emergency room and less likely to have unmet critical medical needs. c.h.c.'s are proven to reduce ethnic and racial disparities in care and the medical expenses of regular c.h.c. patients are nearly 25% l

and as my colleague from vermont, bernie sanders, put his stamp on this bill -- and i'm proud to support him in that -- we've significantly expanded community health clinics. there's $2 billion more for community health clinics in this bill today than there was when it moved out of committee. that is an improvement that i was proud to have helped brought to fruition. as i said, there are exchanges that were in every different version of the bill. i won't go into that. but i will go into just a minute support for small business. when this bill moved out of committee, when i gave it my vote to move forward, there were some provisions for small business, but i'm proud that in this bill there are an additional $14 billion of help for small businesses led by senator lincoln, senator stabenow and myself and others, members of my committee: senator shaheen, senator cardin, senator hagan, senator bayh and others, worked very diligently to convince the leadership that small businesses needed additional help and that they couldn't meet the requirements of this bill without immediate tax credits, w

guest: 1 by senator kay bailey hutchison of texas, republican, the other is bernie sanders, independent from vermont. sanders would call for single payer. that will fail. hutcheson amendment i believe this tax related. i am sure they will fail. most have a 60 vote threshold. yesterday democrats put their rift over the real importation of prescription drugs to rest. it was interesting, normally you have a democratic amendment or a republican alternative, but here you have democratic and -- amendment by byron dorgan for rea importation of prescription drugs, it did not get 60 votes. then an alternative by a democrat, frank lautenberg of new jersey, also did not get 60 votes. democrats will work. the passage of byron dorgan and then it could blow up some of the financing and health care bill because the deal the pharmaceutical industry made what max baucus and president obama to fund the reform and bring down costs. the democrats were kind of fighting among themselves. looks like it was put to rest. another and a long line of republican attempts to have the build yanked back -- yanked back

positive reaction the day after we came out with our plan there was positive reaction from both bernie sanders and joe lieberman so that at least has its allies. >> senator schumer -- [inaudible] [laughter] >> mrs. roberts, seventh-grade middle school. >> so in the last 48 hours there've been a lot of concerns raised about the buy and quote from senator lieber and of the moderates, hospitals, staffers. are you -- is very possible you might have to drop that idea? >> well, i think we're going to wait and see what cbo has to say. i think when people see the details they're going to be pretty happy with it. and i think that many of the concerns that have been voiced, which are legitimate i believe when we get a cbo score and people see the details we will be. [inaudible] and i wanted to ask, it is that stuff on the floor because it breaks up the farm a deal and there is a worry that there are enough votes there? >> is on the floor because senator dorgan has championed it for a very long time. and there are, you know, concerns. people have always had legitimate concerns on that issue about making

and a minute by bernie sanders to expand medicare to everyone. the other a republican motion to stop thieves and taxes and the bill from going into effect until health care benefits kick in. live senate coverage now on c-span2. confidence in your final victory over the hearts of humanity. may our lawmakers face these sometimes baffling days with the glad assurance that no weapon that has been formed can prevail against your eternal purposes. lord, help them to relinquish any negative thoughts to you and receive a fresh infusion of your hope. burn away the barriers to unity so that your will can be done on earth, even as it is done in heaven. we pray in your soverign name. amen. the presiding officer: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to the flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the presiding officer: the clerk will read a communication to the senate. the clerk: washington d.c., december 16

vermont independent senator berny sanders announced his plan to place a hold on chairman bernanke's nominations committee. this is about a hour 45 minutes. >> u.s. department of housing and urban development. we have a quorum present. let me ask the advice of m >> in order to move things along i was going to suggest and i raised this briefly with the senator shelby after taking the other three nominations. >> i would ask unanimous consent to consider the following three nominations in block. the three other nominations. the is there any objection to consider them in block? if not let me ask all those in favor of reporting out these nominees signify by answering aye. >> aye. >> opposed nay. the ayes have it and nom neated are reported. i would like everybody to have a chance to be heard on this. and some i know are going to want a little more time than others to talk about this. and i appreciate. that and the committee ought to cooperate in a way that helps the members in these marts. we need a quorum present and the majority of the quorum present have to vote in the affirmative. you can't have

federal reserve chairman ben bernanke was named time magazine's person of the year, vermont senator bernie sandersis is a half hour. today we meet in executive session -- mr. better bernanke to be chairman of the federal reserve -- u.s. department of commerce, marissa largo to be the assistant secretary of international markets and development, u.s. department of treasury, and steven jakes to be assistant secretary of public affairs u.s. department of housing and urban development. we have a quorum present. let me ask the advice of my colleagues. the nomination obviously that we all want to be heard about is obviously the chairman of the federal reserve. but in order to move things along i was going to suggest -- i raised this briefly with senator shell about taking the other three nominations. and i was going to move those. unless someone here would like to spend some time which i'll accommodate. if there's no objection i would like to move those three and then spend time on the bernanke nomination. does anyone want to comment about this, feelings one way or another? we have a quorum present and

senator bernie sanders of vermont has been a leader on this issue and deserves credit on it. he was dogged. some members looked to this bill for a variety of things, but senator sanders looked to this bill to provide a helping hand across america to the community health clinics. as those clinics are expanded more and more towns in west virginia and illinois are going to have satellite clinics, where people regardless if they're wealthy or not as wealthy will have a chance to walk in the front door and see a medical professional. they won't be cueing up outside the emergency rooms of hospitals where the care is much more expensive. they'll be going to the community health clinics and meeting primary care physician who's will give them the basic help they need before their medical problems become much more serious. that's wha -- that's what this bill is fundamentally about. there are many other parts to it. parts i'm proud to be cosponsoring and proud to be supporting. giving a hand to small businesses, giving a hand to individuals to expand health insurance coverage. some might

when this is finally passed, their ultimate goal is bernie sanders. they will not say that publicly. everybody knows that the american people don't want the government's standing between them and their doctor. we have got that already in terms of rationing of medicare. the purpose was to make sure that people get to see the contrast. the other purpose was to delay as long as possible this bill so that we don't saddle the americans with another $2.50 trillion worth of government over the next 10 years. host: senator coburn, are you still a practicing physician? guest: i am. host: are you still delivering babies? guest: i am not. is the first year i have not been paid increase malpractice insurance. -- i have not been. increased malpractice insurance. host: let's get to our calls for senator tom coburn. marietta, california, howard of the republican line. caller: thank you, thank you. senator, i just enjoy it as amended of your -- just enjoy every minute of your debate on the senate floor. guest: well, you are up awful early. caller: i am retired. to av