i will now turn to ranking member senator cantwell.enator campbell: thank you, congressman zinke for your willingness to serve. going from congressman to secretary of the interior means a different kind of port folio. i was hoping in this first round to cover three issues quickly with you. then give our colleagues a chance to ask questions. first, obviously, you representing the district you do in montana, have made a lot of statements about coal. i want to understand for the record where you are. do you believe the administration does have a right and should have a review of updating information about our coal program? mr. zinke: i think always transparency is important to any administration has the permission to ask the right questions. senator campbell: so you when a the review underway right now? mr. zinke: i don't know the specifics of that review, but i think we should always look at our energy portfolio with an objectivist because it is important. senator cantwell: you don't have an objective on taxpayers getting a fair value. m

senator cantwell: i like day number of things you had to say.t tog i definitely bring up is disconcerting and that is what you said relating to an energy strategy. we cannot, as you said, "optimize economic growth. whil."- growth fossil fuel is having an impact on the natural resources in my stay. it is having an effect on shellfish and the ability to feed. it is having an effect on the two most devastating fire seasons my state has had in the history of our state, burning up in one indian reservation over $2 billion worth of timber. a report thatted i expect to be out this year that will tell you exactly how much this is costing the u.s. government. and i don't think the number will be in the billions. it will be higher than that. question is, as you look at this agency, one of the predicated my comments on is the level of science investment that needs to be made to continue to do this transition. the transition team sent around a document to the department of energy basically trying to identify doe responsibilities related to, they said, clima

thank you. >> thank you, senator cantwell. at this time, we will ask senator cornyn to provide his introduction of the nominee, and when senator cornyn has completed his comments we'll turn to you, senator manchin, and then we will proceed to hear from governor perry. welcome, senator cornyn. >> thank you, chairman murkowski and ranking member cantwell and colleagues, thank you for holding this hearing to consider the nomination of my friend, governor rick perry, to be secretary of the department of energy and to provide me the opportunity of introducing him. i want to also introduce his wife, anita, who is here today. he has is extended family including some of his adopted family with him today. i will let him introduce the rest of them. i got to know -- my wife, sandy and i got to know them when we were running for office in 1990. it's been a few years now. rick had already served in the air force and legislature before being elected agricultural commissioner in texas, i got elected to the texas supreme court the same year.

chairman: senator cantwell. senator cantwell: i missed some -- i caught some of your testimony, but i apologize i had to be at the hearing with governor perry for most of the morning. mr. mnuchin: it is a busy day and you are accommodating a lots of us, so thank you. senator cantwell,: do you support returning to glass-steagall? mr. mnuchin: i don't support going back to glass-steagall as is. perhaps we need a 20 century glass-steagall, but no, i do not support going back as to taking a very old law and saying we should adhere to it as is. sen. cantwell: and so, is that the position of what the republican platform was? because i thought it was glass-steagall. mr. mnuchin: again, the republican platform did pass at the convention, glass-steagall. the president-elect, and went we talked about policy with the president-elect, our view is we need a 21st century glass-steagall. sen. cantwell: when did that change? mr. mnuchin: oh, that -- again, that has been a part of the campaign, has been in some of his speeches.

you.or murkowski: thank i will now turn to ranking member senator cantwell. senator campbell: thank you, congressman zinke he for your willingness to serve. going from congressman to secretary of the interior means a different kind of port folio. in this first round to cover three issues quickly with you. then give our colleagues a chance to ask questions. yout, obviously, representing the district you do in montana, have made a lot of statements about coal. i want to and -- understand for the record where you are. do you believe the administration does have a right and should have a review of updating information about our coal program? mr. zinke: i think always transparency is important to any administration has the permission to ask the right questions. senator campbell: so you when a the review underway right now? mr. zinke: i don't know the specifics of that review, but i think we should always look at our energy portfolio with an objectivist because it is important. haveor cantwell: you don't an objective on taxpayers getting a fair value. mr. zinke: ta

senator cantwell. >> thank you, madam chair. a couple of last issues and thanks to your family for sustaining what's probably going to be a four hour hearing because these are important land issues for our nation and we thank you for your willingness to serve. the bureau of reclamation is already funding critical work on the asma passage. water conservation projects and want to get your commitment to continue the work of recommendations of the bureau on the akima project and like the same understanding you gave to my colleague that these water issues are not earmarks. they are moving forward on serious drought issues for our nation. >> thank you. i think you have a wonderful staff because i have began to be familiar with the issue. i look forward to working with you on it. this is important. montana is not that far away. on issues of water, the snake river begins in montana all the way across the columbia. i get it. and i'm looking forward to working with you on that and making sure it's done. >> thank you. appreciate that. you

i will now turn to senator cantwell, ranking member. >> thank you, congressman zinke. thank you for your willingness to serve and obviously going from congressman to then secretary of interior means a different kind of portfolio, so i was hoping in this first round because there are so many people that want to ask questions if i could cover three issues quickly with you and give our colleagues a chance to ask questions. first, obviously, you represe representing the district that you do in montana have made a lot of statements about coal. i just for the record want to understand where you are. do you believe the administration does have a right and should have a review of updating information about our coal program? >> transparency is important. >> so you wouldn't stop the review that's under way now? >> i think a review is good. i don't know the specifics of that review. we should always look at our energy portfolio with an objectiveness because it's important. >> you don't have an objection to taxpayer getting a fair value? >> ma'am, i think taxpayers should always g

cantwell:. with loopholes --sen. cantwell: with loopholes. mr. mnuchin: the problem is it was left to the regulators to decide. so the first issue -- and again, i'm a believer in proper regulation. but i'm also a strong believer in people need to understand the regulation. we need to be able to explain to banks what is proprietary trading and what is not proprietary trading. i think if we're betting on things that's proprietary trading. the federal reserve had their own independent report on a lack of liquidity in many of the important markets. so what i'm in favor of is that we have clear definition around the volcker rule and that the regulators come out with that and do it in a way so it doesn't eliminate liquidity in many of the important markets. senator cantwell: so you would basically just tighten what you think are the rules that are out there? so you would lessen the rules that have already passed in dodd-frank? mr. mnuchin: no, that's not what i said. i want to be very clear. what i said is that i support the volcker rule but there need

maria cantwell of the state of washington has received one. susan collins of the state of maine has received one. carley fiorina of the commonwealth of virginia has received one. the sergeant at arms will remove the protesters from the gallery. the chamber will be in order. he chamber will be in order. duke has received one vote. in announcement of the state of the vote by the president of the senate shall be deemed a sufficient declaration of the persons elected president and vice president of the united states. each for the term beginning on the 20th day of january, 2017, and shall be entered together with a list of votes in the journal of the senate and the ouse of representatives. the purpose of the joint session having been concluded, pursuant to the senate concurrent resolution 2 of the 115th congress, the chair declares the joint session dissolved.

. >> miss cantwell. >> this is not -- >> debate is not allowed duringn vote. >> the senate will be in order. >> mr. cain. when >> when i was sick you visited me. >> debate is not allowed during vote. senate will be in order.an >> mdm. clerk, how am i recorded. >> the senator is not recorded. >> on behalf of hundreds of thousands of new hampshire. >> the senate will be in order, debate is not allowed. >> mrs. shaheen, no. >> mdm. clerk. >> mr. heinrich, how my recorded. >> senator is not recorded. >> on behalf of the children ofe new mexico i vote no. >> mr. heinrich, no. mr >> madam clerk, how my recorded. >> mr. donnelly. >> the senator is not recorded. >> on behalf of the people of indiana, i vote no. >> mr. donnelly, no. >> mr. sessions, yes. >> mrs. glover sure. >> the senator is not recorded. >> because there is no plan for the alternative, i vote no.ms >> the senate will be in order. >> how my recorded.e >> the senator is not recorded. >> i vote no because the people are not here -- >> debate is not allowed during a debate.e. >> madam clerk. >> how my recorded. >> senator is not

cantwell -- >> this is not --lt >> debate is not allowed to drink a vote. >> you are stealing healthcare from americans. i vote no. >> madam clerk? >> when i was sick you visited - me -- >> debate is not allowed during a vote.ll the senate is in order. >> mr. mccain, no. >> madam clerk? >> mr. king? >> the senator is not recorded. >> on behalf of hundreds of thousands of new hampshire -- >> debate is not allowed during a vote. debate is not allowed during a vote. >> ms. sheen, no. >> madam clerk?is not >> mr. heinrich. >> how am i recorded? the >> the sender is not recorded spin on behalf of all the children in new mexico --e >> debate is not allowed. >> madam clerk on how my recorded? recor >> mr. donnelly, the third is not recorded. >> on behalf of the people of indiana i vote no. >> the senate will be order. >> mr. sessions? mr. sessions, eiko. ms. klobuchar? >> the senator is not recorded spin because is no plan in the alternative i vote no spirit ms. >> how am i recorded? >> the senator is not recorded. >> i vote no because the people of wisconsin did not similar to take away their

member cantwell thank you for your wisdom and interaction. all the distinguished members of the committee thank you for allowing me to come in and share with you to let me listen to your concerns it is an honor for me to be president elect's trump nominee for the secretary. the individual discussions that we've had in your offices and some cases over the phone afterwards have been most important, the most important aspect of the process. i want to thank senator murkowski and senator cantwell again. you both spoke passionately about the priorities of this country and do the things that affect the energy policy. you may be from different political parties but as i noted during those meetings, what you have in common both if you talked passionately about the safety and reliability of nuclear stockpile and the national labs. the importance of greater security and unique situations in each of your states. both of them talked passionately about those issues without any notes. you know the challenges and issues that are going to be facing the secret

ranking member cantwell, thank you for your wisdom, your interaction. all the distinguished members of this committee, thank you for allowing me to come in and share with you, to let me listen to your concerns. it is a real honor for me to be here, to be president-elect trump psalmody for the secretary of energy. as i said, this process has been extremely informative and it has been beneficial for me. the end of the discussions that we've had in your offices, in some cases over the phone afterwards, have been most important. i will suggest, the most important aspect of this process for me. i especially want to thank senator murkowski, senator cantwell again. you both spoke passionately and very frankly about the priorities of this country and for the things that affect energy policy. you may be from different political parties, but as i noted during those meetings, what you have in common, and both of you talked passionately about energy development, about the safety, about the reliability of nuclear stockpile. the vital role of our national labs, criti

cantwell: i vote no. the presiding officer: the senate will be in order. mr. kaine: madam clerk? when i was sick -- the presiding officer: debate is not allowed during a vote. the senate will be in order. mrs. shaheen: madam clerk, how am i recorded? the presiding officer: the senator is not recorded. mrs. shaheen: on behalf of hundreds of thousands of new hampshire -- the presiding officer: the senate will be in order, debate is not allowed during a vote. debate is not allowed during a vote. mr. heinrich: madam clerk, how am i recorded? the presiding officer: the senator is not recorded. mr. heinrich: on behalf of all the children of new mexico who gained coverage through medicaid expansion, i vote no. the presiding officer: debate is not allowed during a vote. the senate will be in order. mr. donnelly: madam clerk, how am i recorded? the presiding officer: the senator is not recorded. mr. donnelly: on behalf of the people of indiana, i vote no. the presiding officer: the senate will be in order. debate is not in order during a vote. ms. klobuchar: because there is no plan in th

cantwell? >> this is not -- >> debate is not allowed. >> -- business as usual, you are stealing health care from americans, i vote no. >> the senate will be in orderer. >> ms. cantwell, no. >> madam clerk? >> mr. cain. >> when i was sick you visited me. >> debate will not be allowed. >> this is the middle of the night, after 1:00 a.m., all of these democratic senators, all of them except for dianne feinstein who just had a freaking pacemaker put in and she was getting ready to come back to work after surgery the very next morning, all of them shouting over the gavel, voting no, saying why they are voting no. senator tim kaine at the end citing scripture, citing the gospel of matthew, when you were sick you visited me. you heard senator bernie sanders there he said on behalf of elderly people who cannot afford prescription drugs, i vote no. senator sanders this weekend will lead a rally to try to save obamacare. he'll do it in michigan, which is interesting. he'll be in warren, michigan. but the

cantwell. >> this is not -- >> debate is not allowed during the vote. the senate will be an order. >> ms. cantwell -- >> no. >> debate is not allowed during a vote. >> mr. kaine. no. amy: democrats say nearly 30 million americans stand to lose health coverage if the affordable care act is repealed. supporters of the law are planning rallies in more than 40 cities across the country. during wednesday night's senate session, more than a dozen democrats voted against an amendment that would have allowed pharmacists to import drugs from canada, often at a fraction of the cost paid in the u.s. the amendment was proposed by vermont senator bernieie sander. sen. sanders: we're thehe only major cocountry not to negotiate drug prices with the pharmaceutical i industry. so you can walk into a drurutore today and the price could be double or threree timeses what u paid a year agago, and there is law to stotop them. they canan and ththey will raise prices as high as ththe market will allow. and ifif people die as a resultf that, nott a problem for them. people get

amy: that was senator maria cantwell. late in the hearing, former governor perry said he now regrets calling for the agency -- energy department to be eliminated. >> ipass statements, made over five years ago, about demolishing the agency do not reflect my current thinking. after being briefed on summit of the vital functions of the department of energy, i regret recommending its elimination. amy: president obama granted another 330 commutations as his thursday final major act as president. the majority of the sentences commuted thursday were for non-violent drug offenses. throughout his presidency, obama has granted 1715 commutations -- more than any other president in u.s. history. the pentagon transferred four prisoners from the guantanamo prison to the united arab emirates and saudi arabia, leaving 41 prisoners at the u.s. prison at guantanamo. president obama had vowed to close guantanamo in his first year as president. in international news, west african leaders have given longtime gambian leader yahya jammeh until

cantwell: thank you, mr. president. i look forward to having this discussion this afternoon about the affordable care act and the many votes and actions that we're going to be taking. i especially look forward to having this discussion with the president in the chair because i know he's a state that is greatly impacted by the health care delivery system and it's short fallings and look forward to discussing with him many of the ideas that our colleagues have. i'm willing to work with anybody to improve our health care delivery system. i'm willing to discuss with anybody what we need to do to improve the quality of health care for americans, and i'm specifically interested in making sure that we improve the outcomes of many americans' health care and also lower cost. that's kind of been the hallmark of what the northwest delivery system has been all about. yes, that's right. we get less money and deliver many outcomes. it is not because we all like to hike, although there are many washingtonians who like to hike. it's be

senator cantwell: -- rep. price: will got a system that has many controls that are providing greater cost to the provision of care. -- i think oftentimes we are not identifying the best practices in the medicaid system so that patients move through the system in a way that is much more economical and much more efficient and effective, not just from a cost standpoint, but from a patient standpoint. there are so many things that could be done, especially for the sickest of the sick in the medicaid population, where we could put greater resources and greater individual attention to individual patients. as you know, in a bell curve of patients in any population, there are those that are the , wheres on the high side the resources spent to be able to provide their care is significant. if you focus on those individuals, you oftentimes can provide a higher level of care and a higher level of quality of care for those folks in a more responsive care for those at a lower cost moving down into the mainstream of the bell

senator cantwell. >> thank you madam chair. governor perry there was one thing i definitely want to bring up that is very concerning and that is as you said as a related to an energy strategy for canada to said quote compromise economic growth. well i guarantee you today we are compromising economic roof because of our over dependence on fossil fuels. it is having an impact on the natural resources and the economy my stay. having an effect on shellfish and the ability to see. it's having an effect on the two most devastating fire season their status had in the history of our state, burning up one indian reservation over $2 billion worth of timber. we have requested, my colleague senator collins of my and gao report that i expect to be out this year that will tell you exactly how much it's affecting us government and i don't think the number will be in the billions. it's going to be higher than that. so my question is as you look at this agency one of the things that i predicated my comment on is the level of science that needs

thank you so much. >> thank you. >> thank you, senator cantwell. senator blunt? >> thank you, chairman. secretary chao, it's wonderful to have you here. other committee will have somebody that goes true this process this year who has already been confirmed four times. so far without a dissenting vote on the senate floor. you're in the process of setting a record that it will be hard o t to -- hard for anybody else to meet in the future. we had a chance to work together when you were at the department of labor, the secretary of labor, i thought you did a tremendous job there. one of the things i liked best about your focus there was on compliance, even more than on enforcement. and i wonder if you could talk a little bit about that theory of trying to get people into compliance as a principle focus, rather than the heavy hand of enforcement as your first place to go. >> a lot of times, the rules and regulations can be very confusing. and so, the government, whether it be at the federal, state, local levels, i believe, has a responsibility to engage in outreach, to

earlier she had served as senator cantwell's legislative director and as legislator director for former senator russ feingold. now it's with great sadness we must wish her farewell and send her back to the senate where she will return to the environment and public works committee as its new deputy staff director. i yield to the leader if i can. ms. pelosi: thank you whip the loss leading and the house will suffer. irst thing i would like to say we depend on your knowledge, judgment, advice and guidance on the what she has mentioned. it goes beyond the whip's office and i think across the aisle. certainly across the capitol. so i wish -- i was hoping the last couple of days that the decision might be reversed, but mary frances, i wish her well, we are not sending her to the senate, she is going to the senate. but wonderful to know that the senate will be blessed with her great leadership, knowledge, wisdom, judgment and temperment, beautiful, beautiful, temperment. mary frances, thank you. don't be a stranger to us and look forward to working together, to preserve our planet and create j

. >> elizabeth warren from the commonwealth of massachusetts received two, maria cantwell from the state of washington received one. susan collins from the state of maine received one. carly fiorina from the commonwealth of virginia received one. the sergeant at arms remove the protesters from the gallery. [inaudible] >> the chamber will be in order. the chamber will be in order. >> we the people -- [inaudible] >> washington journal continues. host: joining us now is bradley olson, the national energy correspondent from "the wall street journal" and also was an energy reporter at bloomberg news, a political reporter at "the houston chronicle" and national correspondent at "the baltimore sun." he is joining us from houston. bradley, good morning to you. gil: good morning. thanks for having me. host: you're here to talk about mr. trump's nominee rex tillerson, what do we know bout this man? guest: he's from texas originally and spent his time in oklahoma and worked at exxon. he has a lot of relationship with foreign leaders and probably spent most of his 10 year as c.e.o. of sexon mobile,

i was pleased to hear your comment to senator cantwell regarding making this fun permanent. i believe their most important conservation program in this country, every state has been touched. every state has had iconic landscapes preserved for the enjoyment of generations to come and that is important. the economy in colorado was about $13.2 billion in billion dollars in economic impact creating over 125,000 jobs in our state. although it's a very important part of that, would you reiterate your commitment to me that you will work with congress to make it permanent. >> you have my full commitment and all three of the montana delegation voters voted in favor of it. it's an important program, especially in the west and in montana, it's, it's particularly important in public access. the checkerboard system out west has made it difficult sometimes to go between for service and blm and you need a bridge and they've been important in doing that. i would support that. >> thank you very much. i've always told colorado people that we need have more colorado and washington and less was

right off the bat, this greeting from senate cantwell of washington. >> welcome, governor perry.ily. congratulations on your nomination. in case you may have forgotten, you once called for the abolishment of this agency. >> that's where you pull an urkel and say, did i do that? there are 320 million people in the united states. of those only one of them went on television and said he would eliminate the department of energy. and who did donald trump choose to run the department of energy? that one guy. you have to admit he's -- [ laughter and applause ] -- he has a sense of humor. i will say as tense and uncomfortable as the hearings have been, it was nice to finally see a moment of levity between rick perry and senator al franken. >> governor, thank you so much for coming into my office. did you enjoy meeting me? >> i hope you are as much fun on that dice as you were on your couch. may i rephrase that, sir? >> please. please. please. oh, my lord. oh, >> well, i think we found our "saturday night live" sound bite. >> maybe everybody can work together, you know. so if all goes wel

steve mnuchin answering questions right now from senator maria cantwell. >> 21st century glass/steagall as part of regulatory reform has a view as to what's appropriate. >> so i just want to be clear because i think in your testimony that i heard, you did allude to the damage that was caused by the implosion of our economy, brought on by toxic financial instruments that did not have the backing that they needed. according to the dallas fed, it's $14 trillion hole in our economy. so i think you alluded to the damage that that caused in your -- so now what i also, i think you answered, at least some of the notes i have here about some of my other colleagues that you believe in the concept of proprietary trading did not belong with the bank. >> that's correct. >> okay. so where does that go then? so you're saying you don't think that today there is a clear prohibition and you to see a clear prohibition? >> no, what i said in the volcker rule -- today we have a prohibition of proprietary trading in banks. >> with loopholes. with loopholes. >> the problem that we have is that the definition

. >> elizabeth warren from the commonwealth of massachusetts received two, maria cantwell from the state of washington received one. susan collins from the state of maine received one. carly fiorina from the commonwealth of virginia received one. the sergeant at arms remove the protesters from the gallery.

cantwell. mrs. capito. mr. cardin. mr. carper. [inaudible conversations] mr. casey. mr. cassidy. mr. cochran. ms. collins. mr. coons. mr. corker. mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cotton. mr. crapo. mr. cruz. mr. danes. mr. donnelly. ms. duckworth. mr. durbin. mr. enzi. mrs. ernst. mrs. feinstein. mrs. fisher. mr. flake. mr. franken. mr. gardner. mrs. gillibrand. mr. graham. mr. grassley. ms. harris. ms. hassan. mr. hatch. mr. heinrich. ms. heitkamp. mr. heller. mr. rondeau. ms. veroneau. mr. hoeven. mr. inhofe. mr. isakson. mr. johnson. mr. kaine. mr. kennedy. mr. king. ms. klobuchar. mr. langford. mr. leahy. mr. lee. mr. manchin. mr. markey. mr. mccain. mrs. mccaskill. mr. mcconnell. mr. menendez. mr. merkley. mr. moran. ms. murkowski. mr. murphy. mr. murray. mrs. nelson. mr. paul. [inaudible conversations] mr. ball. mr. perdue. mr.. mr. portman. mr. reid. mr. risch. mr. roberts. mr. rounds. mr. rubio. mr. sanders. mr. schatz. mr. schumer. mr. scott. mr. sessions. mrs. shaheen. mr. shelby. ms. stabenow. mr. sullivan. mr. tester. mr. thune. mr. tillis. mr. toomey. mr. udall. mr.

. -- cantwell, to make hers. after that we will hear from our colleagues, the montana senators thank you both. senator tester -- excuse me, senator daines, of course, is on the committee here, and, senator tester, it's good to have to you join us as well. they will introduce our distinguished witness and the ore -- other member of the montana delegation, representative ryan zinke. .. who happened to know you it's good to have him back. a little bit of favoritism there, but it's good to have you here as well. i would also like to welcome the new member stuart committee. we have three new members and we are pleased to have a new senator from nevada, ms. cortez masto, welcome. isil is the junior senator from illinois, senator duckworth. it's good to have you as part of the committee. senator sessions is also the olympic committee. busy right now on some other issues. we welcome them. they have a new era for the department of the interior. i'd like to thank you, congressman zinke. yours has been a life of service for

. >> senator cantwell. >> thank you, mr. chairman. congressman price, sorry we haven't had a chance to talk. >> i apologize. >> no, i think both have tried and it's been a myriad of consequences. >> weather. >> i wanted to ask you broadly, i know a lot of my colleagues have been asking you about medicaid, but what do you think is the rise in medicaid cost? what is it due to? >> i think it's multifactorial. we have a system that has many, many controls that are providing greater costs to the provision of the care, that is -- that's being provided. i think that oftentimes we're not identifying the best practices in the medicaid system, so that patients move through the system in a way that's much more economical and much more efficient and effective. not just from a cost standpoint, but from a patient standpoint. there are so many things that could be done for especially the sickest of the sick in the medicaid population, where we could put greater resources and greater individual attention to individual patients. as you know, in a bell

senator cantwell. >> thank you, mr. chairman. and welcome and congratulations on your nomination. i think weep had a chance to discuss the state of washington and how rapidly it is growing. how being a gateway to the pacific has made our transportation system one of the key cornerstones of our economic success, that our tate and local governments are making strategic investments in 2014, washington businesses though lost $800 million because of congestion and we have very challenged infrastructure issues. for the third consecutive year, c tack is the fastest growing airport in the united states. in the last three years, the passenger volume has increases by 32%. railroads are moving over 105 million tons of freight each year. sand transit is the fastest growing light rail service in the country. the northwest seaport alliance, the largest cargo center and rgdp in the state grew by 3% compared to the nation as a whole which was 2.5 and washington employment grew 3.5% the fastest in the nation adding 109,000 jobs in 2016. so we have growth. we have an economic engine. but we despera

senator cantwell: we did incentivize it in the affordable care act. state and many other states took the money for the affordable care act -- georgia 57 million to make sure beneficiaries got care in community-based care and were able to shift cost to that community-based care. so huge savings. it is working. are you for repealing a part of the affordable care act? rep. price: i'm dedicated for the medicaid population and to have access to the highest quality care. senator cantwell: i would hope you would look at this model and you would also look at the basic health plan model, which is, again, what i think you are proposing and what the administration is refusing to refute when the president said i'm going to protect these things and when the white house chief of staff is saying no, no, we are going to cap medicaid spending, it's a problem. what we want to do is give them leverage in the marketplace. that is what the basic health plan does. that is what the community-based health care plan does. it gives them the ability to get more affordable care