byrd.hed a milestone among many in his career. it is an extraordinary record of service and dedication an patriotism to the country and reflects the values of the people of west virginia and the people of this great nation. extraordinary service measured not just in length, but accomplishment. but the length is impressive, indeed. 20,744 days of service as a member of the congress. 56 years and 10 1/2 months. and over that time senator byrd has cast 18,500 roll calls, more or less, witnessed the inauguration of 11 presidents and has been successful in 15 out of 15 elections. that's impressive, indeed. for over 60 years he has represented the people of west virginia tirelessly and with a great deal of energy and a great deal of success. he started in the west virginia house of delegates, was elected to the west virginia state senate and then went to the united states house of representatives and, finally, came here to the united states senate where he is currently serving an unprecedented ni

dalai lama, ted kennedy, what ronald reagan, walter cronkite, colin powell and robert byrd. and on new year's day, a look at what is ahead for the new year. vladimir putin discusses his future from its annual call-in program. presidential adviser austin goulsbee on the global economy, the creator of segue and the founder of guitar hero on innovation and entrepreneurship. plus, the art of political cartooning. >> fox news contributor michelle malkin is our guest this began on "american perspectives" -- on "book tv" three hours with her sunday live at noon eastern on both tv -- on "book tv" part of a three day weekend starting friday. correct this panel looks at cost-effective methods to provide quality education for all american youth. it is about one hour, 50 minutes.

byrd? mr byrd? aye ms. cantwell, aye. mr. cardin, aye. mr carper, aye ,r casey? mr. cockburn, know. mr. cochran, ms. collins, no. mr. conrad, aye. mr. courter,no. mr. cornyn, no mr. crepo, no. mr dement, no,. \ mr dodd, aye. mr dorgan, aye, mr durbin, aye mr ensign, no mr enzee, no mr feingold, aye, mrs. feinstein, aye. mr franken, aye. mrs,geillearand, aye. mr graahm, no mr grassley, no. mrñgreg, no mrs, hagan, aye. mr harkin, aye. mr hatch, no. mrs. hutchison -- mr.inhosfe, no. mr noway, aye. mr isaacs said, nope. mr.johans, no. mr. johnson,aye. mr. kaufman,aye. mr. careyaye mr. kirk,aye. mr coles, aye mr. pyle,no. ms landreau, aye. mr lautenberg, aye. mr leahy, aye. mr levin ,aye. mr. lieberman,aye. mrs. lincoln,aye. mr. lugar,no. mr. mccabe,no. mrs. castle,aye. mr. mcconnell,no mr. menendez,aye. mr. merkley, aye. ms. mikulskiaye. mr merkowski, no. mrs. mary,aye. mr. nelson of nebraska,aye. mr. nelson of florida,aye. mr. pryor,aye. mr. reed of rhode island,aye. mr. reid of nevada, [laughter] mr. reid of nevada,aye. [laughter] mr rich, no. mr. roberts,no. mr. rockefeller,aye. mr.

this is a piece about how important senator byrd has been.is 92-years old and in fragile health. this is how they got the senator to the floor. insuring that he takes the place on the floor has been a preoccupation of the senate democratic leadership team. he has missed slightly more than 40% of roll-call votes. he makes a short elevator rides to the senate floor. after reconciliation, both chambers must vote on final legislation before the president can sign that which will extend into the new year and another round of byrd-watching. he has been fragile for some years but he is always there. let me share with you one more article. they read about the deal the ben nelson secured about his agreement to boats on additional medicaid aid for his state. 10 states are now raising questions about the legality of the deal that senator ben nelson cut for his own state of nebraska attorneys general in 10 states held a conference call late on tuesday to consider how they might challenge the deal which they call federally- subsidized by in. some say it i

time when joe biden takes geithner across the potomac and kills him in a duel we'll have matched what byrd ticks is a very important -- politics is a very important part of the business. and what's in the tool box or the gear shift for american legislation and when the congress looks at an issue, what can they really do? and they really have three things. congress is mostly a status quo, crisis activated Ñisystem. they're good in a crisis. we holler at them and it's messy watching them, but they're pretty good. 9/11, for president bush, came out with a tarp and $700 billion and number picked out of the air and admittedly picked out of the air, congress delivered, a lot of hollering, but they delivered. president obama shows up and he needs a stimulus, $700, $750 billion, out it goes. in a crisis, recently within the last year, congress has thrown $1.5 trillion out on mostly hunches and guidance and leadership from a president in term of response to what they see as a national crisis. congress is pretty good in a crisis. second thing it's got is partisan. there's a partisan response that jo

kkk byrd that we know from west virginia and his thought process.we get to be one, a few mr.tapscott listen to mr. solomon a little more and get away from the no and try to get a little more to the yes, . can't mr. solomon, a want to applaud you for your intelligence and intentions. host: we will stop you there to let the harvard debate continue. guest: this was your brother, right? if guest: not literally, anyway. guest: where do i start? i commend the caller for his passion. it is too bad we don't have more for american politics today. i would simply say that the caller obviously has a the conventional wisdom of american academia today which is that somehow these evil europeans came to america and took over and murdered and killed for 300 years. that is a total misreading of american, western history. people who have that perspective are not generally open to contrary opinions. i commend the gentleman for his passion. host: coming from james, i thought that the "haters" took sunday off. caller: good morning. only to quickly comment on health care

senator reid has approached senator mcconnell and said, we have one of our senators, senator byrd of west virginia, with significant health proble problems, who's been brought to 9 floor now -- brought to the floor now early in the morning, late at night in a wheelchair. he looks better than ever, i might add. but the fact is that he is being asked to show up at 1:00 in the morning because we couldn't reach what is usual comity and gentlemanly accord on scheduling a vote. and it's unfortunate, because now we face this 1:00 a.m. vote. and with no cooperation on the other side to even change the vote for a very humane reason. mr. baucus: our -- the requests on this side for a vote at a reasonable hour, say, what, now it's 5:10, maybe 5:00, 6:00, 7:00, 8:00, that a at a reasonable time, instead of 1:00 a.m., have been rejected by the other side? mr. durbin: unfortunately, the senator from montana is correct. and now, as the senator from oklahoma says -- and i quote -- "what the american people ought to pray is that somebody can't make the vote tonight. that's what they ought to pray." i

kkk byrd that we know from west virginia and his thought process. one, a few mr.tapscott listen to mr. solomon a little more and get away from the no and try to get a little more to the yes, . can't mr. solomon, a want to applaud you for your intelligence and intentions. host: we will stop you there to let the harvard debate continue. guest: this was your brother, right? if guest: not literally, anyway. guest: where do i start? i commend the caller for his passion. it is too bad we don't have more for american politics today. i would simply say that the caller obviously has a the conventional wisdom of american academia today which is that somehow these evil europeans came to america and took over and murdered and killed for 300 years. that is a total misreading of american, western history. people who have that perspective are not generally open to contrary opinions. i commend the gentleman for his passion. host: coming from james, i thought that the "haters" took sunday off. caller: good morning. only to quickly comment on health care issue. i am

without hearing news of the evolution of the mexican crisis and the issue was raised at the time these byrd said east asia tigers by and large had a history they had more than a decade of the incredibly high growth, low inflation, prosperity, they had very large current account deficit is. that was financed for borrowing from abroad. a lot of that with short-term borrowing called hot money, leverage. at the personal level, household level comment indebtedness have gone up a lot. stock markets had gone up a lot. real-estate prices are soaring. says shopping malls were it in the midst of the forest that were coming into being during this boom. we naturally pose the question are you concerned to of what is happening in mexico could happen here? and we got this answer from every country official that we talk to domino. those things have been in latin america. not here. we have asian rallies how many of you remember the asian crisis 1997/98? move the clock forward. in the years running up to the beginning of this crisis, math the roots of this crisis, the recession begins in 2008, and a 2007. or

those members included, senator akaka, senator baucus, bingaman, boxer, byrd, conrad, dodd, dorgan, feingold, feinstein, harkin, inouye, kerry, kohl, senator lautenberg, leahy, 11, mikulski, murray, reid, and senator specter. i would hope these members would continue to support senator kennedy's amendment from 1995 today. clearly the issue of medical liability reform is even more pressing than it was back in 1995. we, as americans, spend more money on lawsuits than any other country in the world. and more than twice as much as all but one other country. and, according to a recent nonpartisan study, the direct cost of health care lawsuits is around $30 billion a year. that's a direct cost to our health care system is around $30 billion a year. now, these costs are multiplied by indirect costs, especially doctors ordering costly tests out of fear of being stewed. estimated money spent on unneeded tests range frdz dz 100 billion annually to $250 billion a year annually. let me repeat the numbers. in unnecessary tests, the estimates are as high a as $100 billion to $250 billion in unnecessary te

leaders including the dali lama, ted kennedy, ronald reagan, walter cronkite, colin powell, and robert byrdad for the new year. the russian prime minister vladimir putin discusses his future from its annual call-in program. presidential adviser austan goolsbee on the global economy, the creator of the segue on innovation and entrepreneurship. plus, the art of political cartooning. fox news contributor is our guest this weekend on book tv's "in depth. "\ that is three hours sunday law that noon eastern on book tv. >> coming up on "washington journal" we will take your questions and comments and later tonight, interviews with supreme court justice anthony kennedy and samuel alito. this morning, a discussion on how the u.s. should respond to the latest attempted terrorist attack on board a northwest airlines flight with a representative from the heritage foundation. then we will talk about infectious diseases with an update on

and world leaders, including ted kennedy, ronald reagan, walter cronkite, and robert byrd. and then a look at what is ahead for the new year. fatah mayor putin discusses his future. presidential adviser of the global economy. the co-founder of guitar hero on entrepreneurship. plus the art of political cartooning. now available, c-span is book, abraham lincoln. a great read for any history buff. it is a unique perspective on lincoln from 56 scholars. from his early years to his wife in the white house. abraham lincoln, in hard cover, and now in digital audio to listen to any time. learn more at c-ç span.org/lincolnbook. >>, escaped the violence against women office in the justice department $418 million. about $200 million less than the previous year. some of those funds were part of a stimulus package. this was turbot patrick leahy and there was a hearing looking into the hearing last summer. qi]cracks this has been the centerpiece going against domestic violence against women. it passes the single achievement and i am glad to say senator kaufman from delaware because his

senator byrd has had health problems. he is 92. he has had health problems in recent months, in and out of the hospital. there was some question about whether he would, given the snow, the late hours, early hours, whether he would be able to work it -- -. sitting in the chamber and seeing him, he does look as though he is doing very well. host: will from olympia, washington, independent line. caller: i would like to ask your guest if she is familiar with the united states public health service commission corp. host: why did you ask? caller: i ask that because the commission corp was established in 1798 and a mandate was to provide health service to the united states public. over the last 200 years, that has been their goal and that has been what they are doing. their mandate has changed over the years to include more and more citizens but that is the goal, to provide public health care service to the country and people go to them and they will pay a fee because these medical practitioners, be it doctors, nurses, are government empl

byrd, presidet pro tempore.residing officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is read served. under the previous order the senate will resoup consideration of the conference report to accompany h.r. 3288, the clerk will report. the clerk: conference report to accompany h.r. 3288, an act making for housing and urban development and so forth and for other purposes much -- purposes. the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. harkin: mr. president -- if the senator from iowa will -- the presiding officer: the time until 2:00 p.m. will be equally divided and controlled between the leaders or designees. the senator from iowa. mr. harkin: parliamentary inquiry. how much time will i be recognized for now. the presiding officer: the senator from iowa will be recognized for 13 minutes. mr. harkin: mr. president, i don't intend to use it more, if others on my side are seeking it. but, mr. president, today and every day an estimated 14,000 americans will lose their health insurance coverage. the historic

of congress and so like a month and a half i was studying the rules and i was going to be the bobby byrdf journalists and after filling my head with all these rules and every time i'd learn a rule i'd start discovering exceptions in the way people got around them. finally, one of my wiser colleagues came up to me and said, you know, there's only one rule you need to know and i said what's that? at the end of the day, congress can do whatever it wants to do. haven't we seen that rule particularly in this area of fiscal policy demonstrated over and over and over again over the last three decades? and why would this system work where all others have failed? >> well, because there's good rules and there are bad rules. and if you take graham ruddman hollings. there were several problems. i mentioned some -- graham basically said use the current system which is not bipartisan. cut, cut, cut and if you don't cut enough to hit this sort of arbitrary fixed goal, then, you know, we have a sequester all of which was un-reich and that's why the system died within a couple of years. what this tries t

byrd, president pro tempore. mr. reid: madam president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: following leader remarks, the senate will resume consideration of the health care legislation with the time between 1:30 between the two leaders and their designees, between 1:30 and 11:30 tonight, there will be alternating hours with the republicans controlling the first hour. at 11:30 p.m., the senate will recess until 12:01 a.m. with the time until 1:00 a.m. equally divided and controlled between their leaders their designees, with the democratic leader controlling the final ten minutes and the republican leader the ten minutes before that. at 1:00 a.m., the senate will proceed to a vote in relation to the health care bill. that time until i have at 1:30 i designate to the [inawd inaudi] the presiding officer: without objection. under the previous order, the leadership sometime reserved. under the previous order, the senate will resume consideration of h.r. 3590, which the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 175, 3590, an act to amend the internal revenue code o

byrd that we would do that at 1:00 a.m. and he said that the majority leader has the power to put this vote back. we could do it at 9:00 a.m. in the morning. well, he's absolutely right. we could do it at 9:00 a.m. in the morning. but because of the intransigence of the republican side. because they are not willing to let us have these votes without expending the 30 hours under the rules -- under the rules, the cloture petitions have been filed. and, of course, the republicans, which is their right, they can burn up 30 hours. well, after the first vote at 1:00 a.m., the clock starts ticking on the next 30 hours for the underlying substitute. then after that 30 hours, there's the underlying bill itself. and that gets 30 hours. so if the republicans really want, they can burn up 90 hours. i ask to what end? to what end we have the 60 votes. no one doubts that. there are 60 votes now to pass this bill. so to drag this out and to cause people to come in at 1:00 a.m. in the morning, it's not on the democrats' side, it's on the r

getting into more than we want to get into, but the problem i run into is i remember in 1990 in robert byrdait a minute. what about forest fires in the west? what about hurricane katrina? what about tarp? what about bush i getting ready to send troops into kuwait and it is eaten up pretty damn quickly. >> bill is raising a really important point which is the incredible abuse of the emergency provision and obama and bush are tied at this point having pushed through about $880 billion worth of emergency supplementals. bush, i mean, think of how different the concept of -- to me an emergency is something you can't expect and therefore can't budget for inçó advance, like a forest fire or like a hurricane katrina. the entire seven wars and going is being paid for as an emergency solution. and there are ways to deal with that that we could talk about and -- >> let me ask larry and frances a question keying off something bill said earlier. you suggest or pointed out in the 1990's it was a crisis of crisis of government that enabled you to reach some kind of an agreement. do you think that it's goi

byrd, president pro tempore. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the time until 1:00 a.m. will be equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees, with the majority leader controlling the final ten minutes prior to 1:00 a.m. and the republican leader controlling the ten minutes immediately prior. mr. alexander: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee. mr. alexander: mr. president, i intend to take ten minutes of the republican time. will you please let me know when one minute remains. the presiding officer: the senator will be notified. mr. alexander: i thank you, mr. president. mr. president, there may be a number of americans who are switching over from the minnesota v. carolina football game and they may be wondering what in the world is the united states senate doing coming into session at midnight on a sunday in the middle of a snowstorm and getting ready to vote at 1:00 a.m. so let me try to explain that for just a moment. the reap is that the

byrd, president pro tempore. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader is recognized. mr. reid: following leader remarks, if any, the senate will resume the house message with respect to h.r. 332, the department of defense appropriations act. the time until 7:20 will be equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees with the final ten minutes reserved for the two leaders with the majority leader controlling the final five minutes. at approximately 7:20 a.m., the senate will proceed to a series of votes with respect to the defense appropriations bill. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. mr. alexander: mr. president? the presiding officer: under the previous order, the senate will resume consideration of the house message with respect to h.r. 3326, which the clerk will report. the clerk: house message to accompany h.r. 3326, an act making appropriations for the department of defense for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2010, and for other

so lieberman arrived in time and senator byrd is getting older and often comes in a wheelchair.late as well. >> what was the outcome of the vote and what does it mean for the omnibus bill? >> they got the 60 votes required. three republicans switched sides and three democrats switched sides. it is almost definitely going to be passed tomorrow at 3:00 p.m., when the vote is going to start. that will be an adoption of the conference for the on the bus. hopefully, people have their fingers crossed that the president will be able to review this legislation before the 18th and they will not have to pass yet another temporary funding because they are trying to focus their agenda on health care. >> they also spend time talking about health care. any progress on that? >> health care is on hold right now what the congressional budget office reviews the new version that has been crafted by the group of 10 moderate and liberal democrats were trying to find language to replace the public option. the congressional budget office needs to turn in some sort of score that tells people how much t

after that, members of the senate pay tribute to virginia senator robert byrd for becoming the law wasgressman in u.s. history. -- the longest serving congressman in u.s. history. tonight, a look at the best books of 2009. several news organizations have published their best out list for the years. tonight, books by ann coulter harold evans and others. for the entire list, visit our web site booktv.org. former secretary of state colin powell was honored earlier this month with a portrait. there were also remarks from current secretary of state hillary clinton. it is 25 minutes. [applause] >> welcome to the benjamin franklin room here at the state department for such a happy occasion. totally in keeping with the spirit of the times where we are about to have the unveiling of the official portrait of colin powell as the secretary of state. four years ago, hundreds of employees from across the state department gathered in the lobby downstairs to cheer for their boss as he said goodbye. today, i am delighted to join staff, family and friends in saying to my predecessor welcome back. id is

he referred to the senator from west virginia by name, senator byrd. elderly, frail, but shows up here to vote. dragging hem out of bed at 1:00 a.m. in the morning to come here. he said why don't we do it at 9:00 a.m.? well, i thought that was a pretty good idea, so when i got here to the floor here an hour ago, a couple hours ago, i asked unanimous consent at that time that we have the vote at 9:00 a.m. but that the hours from 1:00 until 9:00 be counted for purposes of the 30 hours. the republicans objected. so much for their concern for the senator from west virginia. so, mr. president, we're on the cusp. we're going to expand small business credits. we're going to reduce administrative costs. we're requiring insurance companies to spend 80% to 85% of their income on health care, on health care. not fancy corporate offices, not high, expensive c.e.o. salaries of millions of dollars a year, not fancy jets, but 80% to 85% must be spent on health care and paying medical claims. as senator durbin said, we make major investments in community health center

thursday, a look at world leaders including the dalai lama, ted kennedy, walter cronkite, and robert byrd. on new year's day, a look at what is ahead for the new year. the russian president discusses his future from its annual call in program. austan goolsbee on the global economy. the creator of the segway on innovation and entrepreneurship. plus, political cartooning. >> michele malkin is our guest on "book tv." she is the author of the best- selling "the culture of corruption." this is part of a three-day new year's weekend beginning on friday. >> there is less than one month left to enter the 2010 student camera contest. $50,000 in prizes for middle and high school students with a top prize of $5,000. create a five-eight minute videos on our country's greatest strength or a challenge the country is facing. it must incorporate c-span programming and showed different points of view. winning entries will be shown on c-span. don't wait another minute. >> u.s. officials are investigating any possible links between the attempted christmas day airliner bombing and a similar incident in somal

byrd, presidet pro tempore. mr. reid: madam president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: following leader remarks the senate will resume consideration of the motion to concur with respect to h.r. 3326, the defense appropriations act. the first hour will be equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees. the republicans will control the first 30 minutes. the majority will control the next 30 minutes. we filed cloture on the motion to concur. that vote will occur sometime in the next 10 or 12 hours. madam president, we're going to finish this health care bill before we leave here for the holidays. we're nearly -- for nearly an entire year we've reached out to the other side, offered republicans a seat at the table, tried to negotiate in good faith. nearly a whole year. now we're closer than ever to fixing a badly broken system and doing more to make sure every american can afford to live a healthy life. republicans have made their point through obstruction manuals, missions they believe is good for stalling for electoral politics. tkpwap

including the dolly llama, ted kennedy, ronald reagan, walterç cronkite, colin powell, and robert byrden, newç year's day, a look ahead to the new year. vladimir putin discusses his future from his annual call-in program. presidential adviser ostend rules be on the economy. the creator of the segue, and guitar hero on of entrepreneurship. >> fox news contributor michelle malkin is our guest this week on "in depth," the author of " the culture of corruption." she takes your calls. three hours with michelle malkin, sunday on "book tv." >> there is less than a month left to enter c-span's 2010 student cam contest. top prize, $5,000. just create a 5 to 8 minute video on one of our country's greatest strengths or a challenge the country faces. xdi]it mustç incorporate c-span programming and show varying points of view. interred beforew3 midnight, january 20. cannot wait another minute. -- do not wait another minute. >> how has military strategy changed? the house committee look into how military strategy is taught at u.s. war colleges. arkansas representative vick snyder chairs the armed

byrd from west virginia. since he arrived in 1959, the senior senator has cast more than 18,500 votes. this week, amid a historic blizzard, the 92-year-old senator arrived in the wee hours after midnight, in the frigid minutes just after dawn. here is this quote from senator chris dodd, who sat next to him in the chamber and took note of the senator's cheery attitude this week. "he looks a lot better, he seems a lot better than a few weeks ago." he added that he is clearly aware of who his colleagues are, their families, and their legislative interests. your reaction? guest: there had been a lot of questions, political reporters like myself, we like to sometimes imagine or speculate about all the things that could go wrong. senator byrd has had some health problems. he is 92 years old and has had some health problems in recent months, in and out of the hospital. there was some question about whether he will, given the snow and the late hours, early hours, be able to make it in. but sitting in the chamber duri

this is going to be a day we are going to look back upon as senators byrd proud of what we have accomplished, but we're very have been -- as senators and be very proud of what we have accomplished. this is why we came here. this is why we hired out for these jobs, to pass something very historic like this. >> let me thank senator reid. for christmas eve, i cannot think of a better give the united states senate can give to our citizens them lifting the burden of fear from their shoulders, the fear they will not be able to have health care for their families and loved ones in time of need. this is an enormous victory for the american public, and i am proud of the votes cast in favor. last year proved progress is not easy, but it is not impossible. we will provide all americans with the security of having peace in health care. there has never been a vote cast in my tenure that has done as much to relieve the burden that will provide more security to middle-class and working-class families in america than this one. this is probably the most important vote every member will casting their year, an

and world leaders including the dalai lama, ted kennedy, walter cronkite, colin powell and robert byrd. new year's day look at what is ahead for the new year. vladimir putin discusses his future. presidential adviser austin ghoulsbe. innovation and entrepreneurship and the art of political cartooning. >> michele malcolm is our guest on in-depth. >> now abb see look at the top stories from british parliament. it is about an hour. >> welcome to the record review. a look at the big events over the last three months. in this program the economy. they argue over how to balance the books using public money to claim everything from clearing lots to buying houses. they try to put the expenses behind them. is this the future? members of parliament show how it is done. >> now is the time to be heard and it is time to hear answers. >> the one subject that dominated everything in recent months, money. britain has been in recession for more than a year but unlike other countries like france and germany has yet to show signs of coming out of the recession. questions towards the end of the year, davi

byrd, president pro tempore. mr. durbin: the time until 3:15 p.m. will be equally divided. the majority will control the first hour. the republicans will control the next hour. the remaining time will be equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees. at 3:15 p.m., the senate will proceed to vote in relation to the lincoln amendment number 2905 relate to go executive compensation, to be followed by a vote in relation totten sin amendment number 2927, relate to go attorneys' fees. we are working on the next amendments in order, hope to have them ready for votes this afternoon. senators will be notified if additional votes are scheduled after the votes at 3:15 p.m. mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: first, i want to extend a welcome to the president who is coming up to the capitol today to meet with democrats on the suggest of the health care bill. so far, they have voted to cut medicare three times, cuts they previously described as immoral and irresponsible. cuts that made it impossible for t

one time senator byrd told me, i do not want to -- i never done anything physical and exercise.day i exercise my brain. and he does. he taught to me about what he was going to read during a break. he had something planned to do. this is a remarkable human being, one of the most remarkable human beings i've ever met in my thigh. i have so much admiration for his intellectual capacity, but his physical capacity, he is a tough, strong man who was essential to our passing this bill. >> how you plan on treating the conference committee process? will it be you when speaker pelosi or will it be more transparent? >> ok, you obviously were not listening. i am not going to talk about conference. i'm glad to pass this bill tomorrow. you can ask that question in as many different ways and you look at the same answer. i am looking forward to this vote taking place between 7:00 and 9:00 in the morning tomorrow. after i have a chance to talk to other people about how we proceed on this bill, but the time frame i am focused on is in the morning. and for a few days after that. frankly, i am goin

byrd, aye. mr. webb, aye. mr. vitter, no. mr. baucus, aye. >> mr. kerry. mr. kerry, aye. mr. schumer, mr. schumer, aye. mr. kaufman, aye. mr. shelby, no. mr. bennett of utah, no. >> mr. lincoln. mrs. lincoln, aye. ms. landreaux. ms. landreaux, aye. >> on this vote, the yeas are 63, and the nay are 55. the motion is agreed. the question is on the motion to concur with the house amendment. sufficient second? there appears to be a sufficient second. clerk will call the roll. [roll call] [roll call] [roll call] mr. reid: madam president? the presiding officer: mr. leader. mr. reid: may we have order, mr. reid: may we have order, >> leader, may we have order, please the presiding officer: anyone wish to change their vote or hasn't voted? by a vote of 88 ayes and 10 noes, the motion to concur on the house amendment to the senate amendment on defense appropriations is approved. leader. mr. reid: first of all, to the united states senate, this is a good strong message we've sent to our men and women in uniform around the world as 88 senators voted -- it was a little bit of a struggle

and world leaders, including ted kennedy, if ronald reagan, and robert byrd. then, new year's day, all look at what is ahead for the new year's. vladimir putin discusses his future from his annual call-in program. a presidential adviser on the global economy. to creators on entrepreneurship 3 + the art of coal -- a political cartooning. . >> i have four law clerks, and they are valuable. >> what does this building mean to you? your a man who has studied architecture and art. >> this is the last neo- classical building built in america. it was built in the 1920's and 1930's. taft had been president and he got money to build it. the man who was one of the justices at the time did not want to leave the foreman's chambers in the basement of the senate. he said if we leave these offices in the senate, nobody will ever hear of us again. but he was wrong. another person said he would never come in here. he said this building is so elaborate, it would go to their heads. maybe he was right. it has become, over time, a symbol of the court system and the need for stabili

leaders including the dali lama, ted kennedy, ronald reagan, walter cronkite, colin powell, and robert byrd. new year's day, a look at what is ahead for the new year. russian prime minister vladimir putin discusses his future from his annual call-in program. austan goolsbee on the global economy. the creator of the segue and a founder of "a guitar hero." plus, the art of political cartooning. about one in every 110 children have autism. that according to the latest estimate from the centers for disease control and prevention. the study was based on medical and school records of nearly 2800 children throughout the the national institute of mental health testified over the summer. other witnesses include the parents of autistic children. this is about two hours and 15 minutes. today's discussion is about autism. we don't know what causes this disorder. most researchers agree there is a general component in some cases. every discovery seems to raise more questions as it now looks at autism as not having one genetic cause but many. we still don't know what the z%tiggering mechanisms are. many e

and world leaders, including ted kennedy, ronald reagan, walter cronkite, colin powell, and robert byrdident -- russian prime minister vladimir putin talks about his future. presidential lead pfizer on the global economy. the creator of the segway and guitar hero. plus the art of political cartooning. >> fox news contributor michelle malkin is our guest this weekend on "in doubt." the author of four books including a "culture of corruption" take your calls and e-mails. sunday, a lineman -- live at noon eastern, on book tv. >> there is less than a month left to enter the 2010 contest. $50,000 in prizes for middle and high schools to the three top prize -- $5,000. create a five to eight minute video on one of our country's greatest friends or challenge the country is facing. it must incorporate sends up -- c-span programming and show varying points of view. winning entries will be shown on c-span. do not wait another minute. total website for contest rules in info. now, a conference examined legislative strategies to eliminate all educational disparity three civil rights leaders discuss e

world leaders including the dali lama, ted kennedy, reagan, walter cronkite, colin powell, and robert byrd new year's day, and look at what is ahead. the russian prime minister discusses his of future from his annual call in program. the creator of the segue and founder of "guitar hero" plus the art of political cartooning. >> he recently co-wrote a book titled "if we can put a man on the moon, getting big things done in government." this is just over one hour. >> ladies and gentlemen, please welcome daniel franklin, congressman eric cantor, adam bolton, and david greggory. [applause] >> we will go around the world but starting in this country. let me introduce our panelists. ca. ntor -- congressman eric cantor familiar to everyone in this country. he is the republican whip and has a busy year ahead of him. joe lockhart was the chief spokesman for the clinton white house and is now a founding partner of a group that is a large and flourishing specialist ejido in media relations -- a specialist in media relations and a specialist in this town as well. adam bolton is familiar on british tele

byrd, presidet pro tempore. mr. durbin: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority whip. mr. durbin: mr. president, following leader remarks the senate will resume consideration of the conference report to aaccompany h.r. 8288, with the time until 9:30 a.m. equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees. at 9:30 a.m. the senate will proceed to vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the conference report under an agreement last night the vote on adoption of the conference report will occur tomorrow, sunday, december 13. mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority whip. mr. durbin: mr. president, does the clerk need to report the bill? the presiding officer: under the previous order the leadership time is reserved. under the previous order the senate will resume consideration of the conference report to accompany 3288, which the clerk will report. the clerk: conference report to accompany h.r. 3288, an act making appropriations for the departments of transportation and housing and urban development and so forth and for other purposes. mr.

senator byrd, who is getting older and has too often come in a wheelchair came in late as well. >> so what was the outcome of the vote, and what does that mean for the omnibus bill? >> they got the 60 votes required. republicans switched sides and three democrats switched sides. it is almost definitely going to be passed tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. that is when the vote is going to start. that would mean adoption of the omnibus. hopefully people have their fingers crossed that the president will be able to review this legislation before the 18th and that they will not need to pass to get another temporary funding because they are trying to focus their energy on health care right now. >> they also did spend some time talking about health care. any, -- any progress made on that legislation? >> healthcare is on hold while the congressional budget office and reduce the new version that has been crafted by the group of 10 moderate and liberal democrats who are trying to find language that is going to replace the public option. the gradual -- congressional budget office is determined some sort of

thank you, senator byrd. ms. murkowski: we want to ensure that those medical professionals, whether it is the american society of clinical oncology or the college of surgeons or the radiation oncology, the american college of obstetricians and gynecolgists, those who are in the practice, those who are making the recommendations, these are the individuals that we want to know are being consulted, not some entity that has been created by those of us in government by some administration by some secretary. so what we propose with this amendment is an insurance offering, if you will. you will know fully what is part of your plan. it's not -- the presiding officer: the time has expired. ms. murkowski: it is you and your doctor making these decisions. i would urge a yes vote on this amendment. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the yeas and nays are ordered. the clerk will call the roll. vote: vote: 6 vote: the presiding officer: are there any senators in the chamber wishing to vot

the transcript but the cameras went blank for a minute or so, and when it came back it was robert byrds c-span are you republicans now? if you were so dead set on asking the questions, why didn't you ask the questions about the iraq war, and maybe we would not have had it. because everyone knows that was a lie. host: ok vivian, i believe what you are referring to when two democratic freshmen didn't allow colleagues to debate, and they confined the comments to 10 minutes and when they went over and said to move on, and senator mccain took bridge with that. looking at the "washington times" t(and the critical ñrhea care vote, çsenator nelson of nebraska was providing the sixth vote needed. right-to-life groups and republicans accuse qdemocrats tç overturn the hyde amendment of allowing federal funds to pay for abortions. assuming that the senate bill passes the issue will likely remain at the center of debate as the house and senate plans emerge into the final bill. let's look at president obama's comments yesterday. >> under this bill families will pay under these premiums, and busines

department a former secretary powell later. , members of the senate pay tribute to west virginia senator byrdngress in u.s. history. >> all this week, interviews with supreme court justices. tonight we will sit down with the justices scalia and justice ginsburg. this. elliott talks about the role of the court in the process that justices follow in reaching a decision. justice ginsburg gives a tour of her chambers as she discusses her life before serving. see those interviews tonight at 8:00 eastern on c-span. >> now available, c-span's book. a great read for any history buff. it is a unique, contemporary perspective on abraham lincoln. from his early years to his life in the white house, and his relevance today. in hardcover at your favorite bookseller, and now in digital audio. learn more at [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2009] /lincolnbook. >> friends and colleagues paid tribute to longtime cbs news anchor walter cronkite. the service took place at the regular place of worship for the cronkite family. this is one ho

byrd, president pro tempore. reid mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr.reid: following leader remarks, the senate will resume consideration of 3590, which is the health care reform legislation. the time until 1:00 p.m. today will be equally divided and controlled. it will be for debate only. the time until 11:00 a.m. will be controlled between the two leaders or their designees and then the remaining time will be controlled in 30-minute alternating blocks of tiesm the majority will control the first block, the republicans will control the next. senators will be permitted to speak for up to ten minutes each. i expect the house of representatives to send to the senate this afternoon a conference report. when it arrives, we'll consider it. and if cloture needs to be invoked, then the senate will have to be in session this weekend for a saturday vote and a sunday vote in order to complete action on these bills. this bill is -- includes the bills that we have tried to complete. as you know, we've been held up by the minority to do these bills. bbut we we've ma

caller: i think dennis kucinich, and the senator from west virginia robert byrd, they voted against theanistan. time and time again they stand up. i think the two inspired me the most this year. thank you c-span for all you do for us every day on tv. host: an independent line from greensboro, north carolina. caller: hello, greta, hello, c- span. harry reid and nancy pelosi because of the fact that harry reid virtually was nullified during the bush administration and now no one is paying attention -- the new dog, harry reid right in the middle. he is so impressive -- i think he should get credit for that. i think he is the most impressive. have a big christmas. host: springfield, ohio, betti on the republican line. caller: now is the time for mr. john boehner, a patriot, he is the one we follow and listen to. host: thank you for all of your calls. in the house of representatives will begin its legislative business.

byrd, president pro tempore. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the leader. , majority leader. mr. reid reid: i ask unanimous consent the time until 1:00 a.m. equally divided and controlled between the leaders or their designees, that senators be permitted to speak for up to ten minutes each, that the mandatory quorum be waived and the majority leader be recognized for the last ten minutes and the ten minutes prior to that, the republican leader be recognized if he chooses to speak. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: mr. president, those who are following the business of the senate may be surprised to find us a little after midnight in session. this is a decision made by the senate just a few hours ago to postpone the continuation of our session into a new legislative day. the purpose is parliamentary so that a motion which we have filed can be voted on. it's an important motion. it's a cloture motion. we often have them. it's a m

. >> on c-span a look at the leadersç such asmçw3 colin w3ç and robert byrd, and on çó tributes theo tackle our intelligence problemç host: how do you think that will resolved and worked towards?ht guest: hopefully with the state and law enforcement and with our international partners, that's key to stop terrorist havens and sanctuaries. host: it sounds like you don't think that the administration has done enough to get that rolling? guest: what is concerning to me, the patriot act, president d obama showed support çfor the patriot act. i think he needs to go out and stand up for things that are not popular in his own party. host: let's look at the headlines of çthe terrorist alert and yemen as one qw3of th most unstable in the spotlight and that the nation could emerge ças the next al-qaeda. have we paid enough xdattention to yemen? guest: i think it's important çó that we understand there are ñr lot of terrorist operations t we have to continue throughout the world to work with our international partners. there are a lots of w3places around xdafghanistan where al-qaeda is opera

include canning the dalai lama, ted kennedy, ronald reagan, walter cronkite, colin powell and robert byrds day a look at what's ahead for the new year. russian prime minister vladimir putin discusses his future from his annual call-in program. presidential adviser austin goolsbee on the global economy, the critter of the segway and the the coco-founder of guitar hero. plus the art of political cartooning. >> fox the news contributor michelle malkin is our guest this weekend on booktv's "in depth." the author of four books including the best-selling culture of corruption takes your calls, e-mails and tweets. three hours with michelle malkin can sunday live at noon eastern on booktv, part of a three-day new year's weekend starting friday. >> now a house hearing on two bills aimed at improving the use and capacity of the broadcast spectrum for wireless and other services. the meeting of the commerce subcommittee on technology and the the internet is two hours, 15 minutes. >> subcommittee will come to order. this morning the subcommittee convenes a legislative hearing on two measures related

day of distributes to world leaders including the dalai lama, ted kennedy, colin powell and report byrdoning. monday expanding broad band to rural and underserved areas of the country an up date from the f.c.c. broad band initiative executive directors. foxxd news contributor michelle malkin is our guest next weekend on book tv's "in depth." she has been the aufrthor of fo books. three hours withç michelle maln live at noon eastern on book tv part of a three-day new year's weekend starting friday. host: all this week on c-span a look at president obama's first year in office. observersç steven hessç senio fellow at brookings institution. dan thomson columnist and former vice president of scripps howard news service. the president was asked what kind of grade he would give himself, he said a b-plus. what would you give him? guest: i would agree. not an a-must binus but a b-plu. guest: if he went back to being professor obama he would give him an incomplete. he never turned in the exams. i am the whole quality of the first year has a sense of incompleteness that i find very interesting