the same thing is true with the cobra protection. cobra protection says to a person who is unemployed, who lost their jobs that we're going to help make sure they can maintain their insurance for their family. and now because of the objections of the senator, that health is no longer available. to those who are unemployed. as of january, there were 6.3 million americans who have been unemployed for six month or longer. think about that, madam president. how can you afford to pay your insurance premiums for healthcare if you've been unemployed for six months? that's why we passed cobra protection for those who have lost their jobs. so that they can maintain their health insurance for their families, to keep them out of bankruptcy. to make sure that if they have an emergency, their family can get the needed healthcare and make sure that it's properly reimburse. well, we all agree that should be done, and the underlying bill that would be taken up later today will extend that throughout the year which is what we should do. but in the me

or be killed by cobras. peace-like mongoose and the word went around that the strange mongoose was not only pro cobra and antimongoose but intellectually curious and against the ideals and traditions of mongoosism. he is crazy cried the young mongoose's father. he is sick, said his mother. he is a coward, shouted his brothers. he is a mongoose-sexual whispered his sisters. strangers who had never laid eyes on the peace-like mongoose remembered that they had seen him crawling on his stomach or trying on cobra hoods or plotting the violent overthrow of mongoose-ia. i'm trying to use reason and intelligence said the strange new mongoose. reason is 6/7 of treason, said one of his neighbors. intelligence is what the enemy uses, said another. finally, the rumor spread that the mongoose had venom in his sting just like a cobra and he was tried, convicted by a show of paws, and condemned to banishment. moral? ashes to ashes and clay to clay, if the enemy doesn't get you, your own folks may. that's "countdown" for th

oh, and then there's cobra. that, again, cobra pays 65% of the cost of health insurance for people who have lost their jobs. in maryland this is 9,282 people. again, close to 10,000 families who have lost their benefits. cobra makes sure they have health care. we're talking about someone who worked for a company all of his life. then he was laid off because it was part of the great layoff that's going on in my state. he went to buy health insurance and he's buying it through cobra. it cost almost four times what it cost when he worked. at the same time he's got health problems. he's a diabetic. he's a father. he wants to work. and, most of all, he wants to have health insurance for himself and for his family. but, oh, no we're holding it up. we're holding it up because of something called paygo. and then what else are we doing? we're not paying our doctors. now, regardless of how one feels about health insurance reform, you can't have health reform without doctors. and the opposition to health care reform have s

for a family of four the average monthly cobra premium is rough roughly $1,100.ost people who are out of work, that's simply unaffordable. how can a family that is out of work pay health benefits at at rate of $1,100 a month? they can't do it. the act helps to cover the costs. it has helped millions of unemployed families to maintain health insurance while they look for a new job. unfortunately cobra assistance expired yesterday and that's the provision that they gave 65% subsidy. it expired yesterday. that means that workers who lose their job today or afterwards will not be able to have cobra assistance. they can have the health insurance through the cobra program if they can find the class to pay full freight. that's 102% of their current premium. so for many folks, that's simply unaffordable. and so unless we act, the ranks of those living in fear without health insurance will grow even more. third, without this legislation physicians who treat our seniors and military families will face an immediate 21% pay cut. that's right. an immediate 21% cut in pay that

i want everybody to understand that we pay for the extension of unemployment benefits, cobra assistance, health care assistance, so everybody's covered. in the larger bill that we are dealing with on the floor, the one we took off the floor to address this amendment and this bill, also extends these provisions longer than just a month. the highway bill, the doc fix on medicare, the small business loans that we heard about that we are destroying with our objections, and the satellite -- rural sariewr -- the rural satev viewers. and i really sincerely believe if we can't find $10 billion to pay for something that all 100 senators support, we're in deep trouble. i think the senator from alabama made that very clear. i'm on the budget committee also. i've heard those numbers over and over, not from just the republican people who come before the budget committee but from the democrats that testify before the budget committee. we are on an unsustainable path as far as the budget. so, mr. president, the question before us and before the senate is not whether or not the senators support unemplo

well, there is cobra. the health insurance program for people who lose their jobs. congress enacted the cobra health insurance program as part of a reconciliation bill. now, cobra stands for the consolidated omnibus budget reconciliation act. reconciliation. a republican-controlled senate passed the cobra health insurance program as part of reconciliation in 1986. since then, three later reconciliation bills have amended the cobra continuation coverage rules. congress changed cobra in reconciliation bills in the years 1989, 1990, and again in 1993. another one of the largest health care expansions that congress enacted in the last 30 years was the children's health insurance program otherwise known as chip. once again, we enacted it -- you got it right -- in reconciliation. congress enacted chip as part of the balanced budget act of 1997. once again, it was a republican-controlled senate that passed the children's health insurance program as part of reconciliation in 1997. then there is the medicare advantage program, medicare advantage or medicare plus choice as th

in addition to unemployment compensation, we talk about cobra. that's a provision that allows people who are unemployed to buy at a decent rate health insurance. there have been some excellent amendments offered to this legislation which will really improve it as we send it to the house. but one of the provisions that is very important -- i met a few days ago with 12 governors. every one of them want us to pass something called fmap which is money that states get from the federal government to help them with their medicaid programs. many of the standards that they have for medicaid we set back here, so it's only appropriate that we help them with the money that's so important to the state, especially in these trying times. these governors handed me a letter signed by 48 governors asking that we extend fmap, and we would do that -- not unemployment compensation, cobra is for one year. fmap is six months. that is fungible money. they can use it for things other than medicaid, so we're working to get that done. i think we can get it done. we have ha

. >> and e-mail from david in california talking about cobra. what happens to people currently on cobra with the passage of the new health care bill? >> sadly, wait four years for reforms to kick in. a pre-existing condition, able to go to state high-risk pools and get coverage. in the absence, apply with the ip insurance markets as they do today. >> and still going to have a say in all this. we want 0 watch how it plays out. thanks so much. >>> so many more answers to your questions on health care reform plus a wealth of information on living well, diet, fitness, it's all available online anytime at cnn.com/health. questions answered there. >>> and center stage sunday, the house voted to make washington the top shop for cheap student loans. while boofrting funding for need-based scholar 147s. direct government to students expanded. fees to banks acting as the middle man eliminated saving the government a lot of money, and some of that money saved used to increase pell grants up to $5,900 by 2017. and we've got a lot more ahead this morning. fiv

. >> get cobra. you know he'll get me out. i got some information. >> i know but that's why your lawyer's scared. he doesn't want -- he called me last night. he said, chelsey, i don't want cobra to get ahold of misty because all he's going to do is interrogate her -- i'm working on it. >> my lawyer is trying to get me out. >> yeah, he's like -- i'm going to -- i want to get her out before cobra. >> you should have left when i told you to. you should have went up there to michigan. ya you know, the haleigh enough has got to come to an end. it's got to, misty. whatever the truth is, it's got to come out. and you don't -- you till -- you don't be talking without your lawyerer. he gets [ bleep ] off. he's the only hope thaw got. promise, man, that you didn't have -- never mind. never mind. never mind. >> i just want out of here and i'm telling you he will be happy -- he will be happy if he gets me out, i'm telling you i'm telling you i'm telling you. he make the cops look stupid. >> the cops ain't stupid. they're only going on lik

and i'm on cobra insurance. and with their program, cobra's 15 months. now, the question with the new healthcare plan, is the cap gone off the insurance like a million dollar lifetime cap, is that gone? and also, with the insurance, is the cobra period, is that gone with the new healthcare plan? host: we'll get a response. thanks for the call. guest: sorry to hear about all that, greg. the cap on spending, a lot of plans have caps on how much lifetime benefits you can receive under the plan, a million dollars under a lot of plans, sometimes more, that is phased out in 2014. so right now, that cap still exists. as far as the cobra, as far as i know, there's been no additional cobra extension in this bill. there was a cobra extension in the stimulus package and the jobs bill, but there hasn't been one as far as i know. host: what's the maximum length for cobra insurance? guest: i think the caller is right, 15 months. host: and in terms of funding for cobra, is there any extra money in the bill for that? guest: not as far as i know. it didn't address cobra.

we're going -- with the cobra extension. we're going to help with loans to small business and we're going to help seniors by fixing that medicare provision. we're not going to take the hammer to those programs. we're going to assist our working families. because of this republican filibuster, nearly 1.2 million americans will lose their benefits. and by june, this number will grow to 5 million unemployed workers will be left without vital benefits if congress doesn't act. now, let's talk about that small business provision. small business owners have been hurt because of congressional budget small business administration's general business loan expired yesterday. my colleague from south dakota was just up speaking on the floor about the importance of helping small businesses. and i say to him, and your -- end your republican filibuster attacking small business in america. come to this floor and say enough is enough, i'm going to stand with our workers and our seniors and our small business. so it is time to end the political

and finally, in terms of a reason to do this, to extend unemployment and cobra health insurance, our state labor department also makes a point that at a time when millions of people don't have health care coverage, failure to provide an adequate safety net to ensure that people maintain adequate and affordable health coverage will only add to the rolls of the uninsured in the country. during my travels throughout the commonwealth of pennsylvania, i've met and i continue to meet or i hear from numerous people who are in desperate needs, desperate need of help. recent the hanlin family of pleasantville, pennsylvania, contacted my office to share their story. here's but one story, but very telling about what families are up against. lisa and jeff hanlin have four young children. until recently, jeff and lisa were both unemployed by the same -- i'm sorry, both employed by the same company and, in their words -- quote -- "the family lived on a solid middle-class experience." jeff worked at the company for nearly eight years. over time, he began to experience severe health problems, includ

in fact, the r in cobra actually stands for reconciliation. isn't that something? schip, bipartisan state children's health insurance program passed with reconciliation in 1997. medicare changes done through reconciliation include a hospice benefit, benefit karin colluding cancer screening and the way medicare pays doctors and health care professionals. also the law requiring emergency rooms to screen medicare and medicare patients regards will of their ability to pay was part of the 1985 reconciliation measure. don't think reconciliation is something new. there are people on the television and radio say, oh, my god, the democrats are using reconciliation. of course we are. it's a normal legislative tool used many times before and there's nothing unusual about it. . reconciliation was used for the america people that wasn't that good. i just want to wrap up. so if any of my republican colleagues that want to get started, this would be a good idea to start thinking about that. i want to talk a little bit about our economic situation, because so much of the pain peop

he can't afford cobra because like who can afford cobra. very expensive. what does this bill do for you him right now at this minute? ali, i'm going to draw another zero. it really does not do very much for him at all. starting in 2014 he'll get some subsid daies but right now his t bet is to get on medicaid. >> these folks are in the worst situation. cobra is very expensive. under the stimulus cobra costs were reduced for a while. ultimately that runs out. and once you're laid off and you're out of cobra, you're kind of out of luck. >> you are kind of out of luck. it was a lot of debate over the past year about what to do for people like him. but really he is sort of in this category of people that gets a little bit stuck until 2014 when he does get some subsidies. >> he gets subsidies. by the way, by 2014 we start to see more insurance kicking in. which means if you're bilg it, not as part of a company, do we think it's going to get cheaper for people to buy their own insurance? >> it should get -- depends on how much money you make. by definition if you

kind of up-or-down vote that was cast on welfare reform, the children's health insurance program, cobra health coverage for the unemployed, and both bush tax cuts, all of which had to pass congress with nothing more than a simple majority. >> reporter: the president plans to tvel to pennsylvania and missouri next week to press his case for action. and democrats said they hope to have a final bill by the end of the month. >> lehrer: we take a look now at the situation. ceci connolly covers health reform for "the washington post." and norm ornstein is a long-time observer of congress and politics at the american enterprise institute. ceci, the republicans said this is a new sales pitch. on substance alone, was there anything really new in what the president said? >> not terribly, no. and that kprobl explanation why i've been feeling like yogi berra the last week or so. this is really deja vu all over again. we're essentially back to where president obama began, literally the same room in the white house the east room, where he launched this with very similar rhetoric, all the major fundam

it also extended cobra so that folks who've lost their jobs don't lose their health insurance, and it extended financing for small businesses, and makes it possible for 2,000 furloughed transportation workers to go back to work. so signing this bill and getting relief out the door swiftly is absolutely essential. but it's only a temporary step. the relief i signed into law will last about a month. and that's why i'm calling [on] congress to extend this relief through the end of the year. and because the best form of economic relief is a quality job, i'm also calling on congress to pass jobs measures that cut taxes, increase lending, incentivize expansion for businesses both large and small. now, both the house and the senate have passed a bill that would give businesses a payroll tax refund for every person hired this year. and for companies that are considering expanding, this credit could help them decide to bring an extra employee or two this year. so for companies like opower that are doing pretty well and already expanding, the tax credit may help them decide to hire even more wo

it includes unemployment insurance, cobra health insurance, medicare payment to doctors. and even a continuation of a satellite tv law. senators are working on amendments to the bill. several will be brought up-to-date. votes are possible. work on the bill could continue into next week. meanwhile, the house comes in at half an hour to take up changes to the senate passed jobs bill. live coverage of the house at 10 on c-span. live coverage of the senate have on c-span2 ll lead the senate in prayer. the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. the chaplain dr. barry black will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. god of all grace, in the darkness of our limited knowledge, we turn to you for light. illuminate the path of our senators, so that they may glorify you. teach them to test all things by their conscience and always strive to do what is right. in these challenging times, strengthen their weakness, bring courage for cowardice and invincible faith for doubts. may they so live that their actions can withstand the scrutiny and judgment of poster

well, there is cobra. the health insurance program for people who lose their jobs.gress enacted the cobra health insurance program as part of a reconciliation bill. now, cobra stands for the consolidated omnibus budget reconciliation act. reconciliation. a republican-controlled senate passed the cobra health insurance program as part of reconciliation in 1986. since then, three later reconciliation bills have amended the cobra continuation coverage rules. congress changed cobra in reconciliation bills in the years 1989, 1990, and again in 1993. another one of the largest health care expansions that congress enacted in the last 30 years was the children's health insurance program otherwise known as chip. once again, we enacted it -- you got it right -- in reconciliation. congress enacted chip as part of the balanced budget act of 1997. once again, it was a republican-controlled senate that passed the children's health insurance program as part of reconciliation in 1997. then there is the medicare advantage program, medicare advantage or medicare plus choice as they c

after sunday, the uh-huh employed will no longer be able to apply for fra in the cobra insurance. vote has been held up in the senate. for business brief, i'm harry. >>> coming up could the ravens be interested in newly available receiver terrell owens? hear what coach john harbaugh has to say. >> reporter: and testimony continues this morning in the murder trial for three cult members. i'm megan gilliland. the graphic details revealed on the stand.. >> reporter: he is credited with taking the schools to brand new >>> welcome back to fox 45 early edition 5:28 is the time. i'm pa fris harris. -- patrice harris. let's check in with meteorologist steve fertig and see what we can expect.

well, there is cobra. a health insurance program for people who lose their jobs. congress enacted the cobra health insurance program as part of a reconciliation bill. cobra stands for the consolidated omnibus budget reconciliation act, reconciliation. the republican-controlled senate passed cobra health insurance program as part of reconciliation in 1986. since then, three later reconciliation bills amended the continuation coverage rules. congress changed cobra and reconciliation bills in years 1989, 1990 and again in 1993. another one of the largest health care expansions congress enacted in the last 30 years was the children's health insurance program, otherwise known as chip. once again, we enacted it, you got it right, in reconciliation. congress enacted ship as part of a balanced budget act of 1997. once again, it was a republican-controlled senate that passed the children's health insurance program as part of reconciliation in 1997. then there is the medicare advantage program. medicare advantage or medicare plus choice as they called that then was a major

the -- and cobra. the country deserves much better than that. i will introduce legislation that will reform senate procedure to encourage the two parties to work together to get things done. it will eliminate anonymous holds. if senators want to single-handedly stop a nominee from being approved, then they should have the courage to do so publicly. it will introduce a new procedure to allow us to reduce the time of debate so that we can move on legislation that has broad bipartisan support. third, it will eliminate the filibuster on the motion to proceed. it's one thing to try to block a piece of legislation. it's another thing to prevent it from even being debated in the first place. and finally, my legislation would change the rules of the filibuster to force the two parties to actually talk to each other and not past each other. the president reminded us during the state of the union that our job is not to get elected, and i have heard the same thing from thousands of coloradans in hundreds of living rooms and town halls. it's easy to throw o

they are on cobra or they have no insurance. so this is good news for them." de mari also believes the healthcare law will translate into jobs. "i'm hopeful that even this insurance bill will encourage people to change jobs, perhaps start their own businesses a lot of people are tied to their jobs because they can't afford to lose their health insurance." on the senate floor, republican lawmakers don't see it that way. as amend called job killing agenda raising taxes for the wealthy. increase democrat clair mccaskil chicken little scare tactics. like the original bill, republicans are opposed to making the fixes. "the sky is not falling, in fact as time goes on that sky's going to get bluer and brighter because people in america are going to realize that this bill is not full of booby traps, its full of good things that will reform health care." senator john mccain made a referance to a comment from the 2008 campaign to make his point. "you can put lipstick on a pig mr. president but this is still a pig." just out, put obama's job approval numbers at 51-43, a

i can't afford cobra. >> no. cobra's murder. >> yeah, it kills you. >> seriously.be able to afford coverage. >> which one would you give up? >> actually, they're all corrupted, so you wouldn't want any of them. so, no, there are some good things in here. of course, i overstate things because that's what i do, because i'm half asleep, but i think most of it is a steamy pile of crap. >> no, that's not right. that's not right. >> it's horrible. >> that's not the case. >> the taxes -- they are taxing -- >> no. >> we have 17% unemployment, they are taxing wise investments. this bill says, if you make a smart investment that creates jobs, that creates economic opportunity, we're going to raise your taxes. now, if you make a stupid investment, if you make a stupid investment, well, you can deduct that. i mean, come on. who thinks this way in the real world? i talk to a business person yesterday, one of the most powerful, who's a big obama supporter. he's like, you know, if they would have one person that's really knows business. >> they don't. >> -- in the inner circle, t

more than 1000 united states troops participated in the juniper cobra ballistic missile defense exercises last fall, the largest such drill ever held. [applause] president obama has made in achieving peace and recognizing secure borders for israel a top administration priority. but the u.s. has also led the fight in the international institutions against anti- semitism and efforts to john's the legitimacy of the nation's state of israel. did leave a conference and repeatedly voted against the deeply flawed goldstone report. [applause] this administration will always stand up for israel's right to defend itself. [applause] and for israel there is no greater strategic threat than the prospect of a nuclear-armed iran. elements in their government have become a menace, but to their own people and to the region. iran's president foments anti- semitism, denies the holocaust, threatens to destroy israel, even denies that 9/11 was an attack. the iranian leadership funds and arms terrorists who have murdered americans, israelis, and other innocent people like. it has waged a campaign of intimidati

i became ill and started paying a lot of money for cobra, and then i could not pay for that. i applied to a health company to get insurance, and they rejected me. >> has it been costly for you? >> extremely, but then, your money runs out, and there are people that are saying that this is a bad thing, and they are people with money, and there are people who are saying they are not sure is a good thing. people do not know. i have worked as a nurse, and i have seen people turned away because they do not have health care. something is better than nothing. >> all right, thank you for your comments. missouri. >> hi, i am strongly opposed to the health-care bill. it is in back room bribes, and we're going to end up with high taxes. we're going to have approximately 17,000 irs workers. what are they going to do? are they going to try to seize our homes if we have one because we have not paid? maybe we have been a day late and paid? there are a lot of things wrong with this health-care bill. we need reforms. i support reforms, but not this. this is horrible. >> betsy, do you currently

in the juniper cobra exercise. obama has made achieving peace and recognize and secure borders for israel a top administrative priority. the united states has also led the fight in international institutions against anti- semitism and efforts to challenge israel's's legitimacy. we led the boycott of the durbin conference and we repeatedly voted against the deeply flawed report. [applause] this administration and will always stand up for israel's right to defend itself. [applause] for israel, there is no greater strategic and the prospect of a nuclear armed iran. elements in their government have become a menace posed to their own people and in the region. their president denies the holocaust, threatens to destroy israel, and even denies that 9/11 was an attack. the iranian leadership funds and arms terrorists who have hurt americans. -- americans, israelis, and other people. it has waged a campaign of intimidation and persecution against the people. last june, they were beaten by batons. political prisoners were ro

than were present on a package to extend certain tax breaks, jobless benefits and cobra health insurance a. the measure includes other extensions such as medicare payments to physicians, plus highway and flood insurance programs. amendment votes are expected this morning, and later a test vote on the measure at about 2:30 p.m. eastern time. this is live senate coverage on c-span2. senate will come to order. the chaplain dr. barry black will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. gracious god, our shelter in the time of storm, hold our senators within your providential hand. guiding them from perplexity to wisdom. give them strength to overcome the challenges they face, enabling them to be true guardians of liberty. lord, keep them faithful in service, inspired by the knowledge that in due season they will reap if they persevere. give them a vision greater than they possess. that they may see clearly what you want them to accomplish. infuse them with the safe to realize that with you all things are possible. we pray in your great name. amen. the presiding officer: please jo

wouldn't it be great if cobra was more flexible? these were things we heard. when we came back in september, i thought, ok, rewind, pause, slow this thing down and let's look at it. maybe let's work together, maybe republicans and democrats can kind of come to some common ground because every democrat was hearing the same stuff i was hearing. i know that because i saw it on the evening news, i saw the youtube clips, their town halls in florida, their town halls in arkansas, their town halls in michigan were exactly the same as the town halls going on in north texas. there was no difference. but instead in september we come to a joint session of the house and the senate, the president came and addressed us and it was nothing of the sort that we're going to rework this process. we were going to check the -- we weren't going to check the weather, we're going to fly anyway, full speed ahead, let's get this done, i think i heard it again tonight in the discussion that preceded us a crisis is a terrible thing to waste. let's take this crisis we're in and force this

this afternoon work resumes on a package that extends certain tax breaks, jobless benefits and cobra health insurance eight. the measure includes other extensions such as medicare payments to physicians, plus highway and flood insurance programs. up to three votes are expected after 2 p.m. eastern, possibly including final passage. meanwhile, the u.s. house gavels in in 30 minutes, 10 a.m. eastern for a number of bills, including a resolution of war powers resolution proposed by representative dennis kucinich of ohio. that resolution will get three hours of debate. you can call the house live on c-span. again, they start in about 30 minutes. on c-span3 a look at health care policy. kathleen sebelius speaking to the group america's health insurance plans at 10:30 a.m. now to the u.s. senate on c-spanc-span2. the presiding officer: the clerk will read a communication to the senate. the clerk: washington, d.c., march 10, 2010. to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable tom udall, a senator from the stat

cobra is about to run out. i am desperate and do not know what to do. do it for them. two of four people who are really scared right now, who have done all the right things. the suddenly find out that because of an accident, because of an element, they are about to lose the house. and i am actually confident that the have always taken pride in providing care for their workers and it turns out that they cannot do it anymore and they are having to make a decision about providing health insurance for workers or just drop the coverage or not hired some people because it is being gobbled up by the insurance companies. don't do it for me. do it for the american people. they are the ones that are looking for action right now. i know that this is a tough vote. and i am actually confident. i've talked to some of you individually. it will end up being the smart thing to do, politically. i believe that good policy is the policy i am convinced that when you go out there and you are standing tall, you're saying that this is the right thing to do for your constituents and the right

they would have no hits in their cobra.ey would have no hit anywhere and when it was sent over there, it was rejected. we don't want to create the president that when we spend money we have to pay for it. we're in the world is at a normal thinking process? . . battle the people that need our help today. this is a battle about helping the people that need our help today without hurting the children of tomorrow. without rescuing them. if you talk about emergencies, without rescuing them. if you talk about emergencies, the fact that because we can't spending, that our interest costs have gone up anothe another $128 billion this year, that's an emergency. the other thing is that we have over $300 billion worth of waste, of fraud, of duplication in the federal government every year. and so if you dispute it, you can say that there's only -- let's say it's half that. why wouldn't we get rid of that and pay for this rather than charge this intermediat intermediate $9.2 billion to these little children? i actually had the pleasure

therefore, there are millions of people today at risk of not having the unemployment insurance or cobrao something about that as a people. the '70s to do something about it as a senate. it is unrelated to party. it happened to be a republican senator named bunning who is he was worried about his grandchildren. he was worried about the costs senator durbin was concerned about the families who could not put food on their table. we have 280 bills or so. republicans and democrats in the house agree on is that the senate is a conservation at best. we have 270 bills that we best at 70% with more than 50 republicans that are still pending. >> in terms of encouraging our republican friends to come to the table, i think we want their ideas. >> absolutely. >> one thought that i have this they are pushing for the bush tax cuts. i don't figure will do any good. >> because the tax cuts weren't paid for, the budget rules expire and because the budget required longer payout, this looks good and your budget. the president indicated that we would not raise taxes on middle- class. clearly in my view, we

in order to get another policy, she says it would cost about $2,800 for cobra insurance. >> i don't know a lot of people that can afford that. we sure couldn't. >> reporter: when the president's health care bill was signed into law, she was imrietd our family badly needs it. >> reporter: she said she was outraged when she learned that the attorney general in her state filed a lawsuit against the federal mandate for people to carry insurance. >> we are in a big budget crisis in virginia now and this is going to cost money. >> reporter: we sat down with attorney general ken cuccinelli to talk about the lawsuit. >> they have overreached their power under the constitution in this bill and therefore, while usually a federal law trumps a state law, virginia's law should actually trump the federal law. >> reporter: wisdom martin, fox 5 news. >> for the most part, the lawsuits claim the new health care reform package exceeds congressional powers to regulate commerce, violates 10th amendment protections of state sovereignty and imposes an unconstitutional state tax by mandating people get insuran

last minute, this issue of senator coburn standing up and stopping the extension of unemployment and cobraenefits for, what, 1 million jobless americans in this type of recession, this is not going to help the republicans. people are being hit very hard all over this country. how many, 1 in 5 homeowners under water with mortgages. this is unacceptable, the condition of america. you talk about health care, it's significant. now they're going to talk about perhaps 30 million more americans getting ensured. kids with preexisting conditions being taken care of. i don't think republicans can lobby against that, though single-payer advocates, people who believe in health care for all, might be dissatisfied, not just republicans who say protect the big insurance companies but those progressive who would like to see this health care coverage for everyone. >> so, eric, to amy's point, republicans want to say the health care bill cost too much. the government doesn't have that money, gives the government too much power. i know you agree with senator coburn, we have to pay nor this if we give $10 bil

it also extended cobra so that folks who have lost their jobs don't lose their health insurance.g for small businesses and makes it possible for 2,000 furloughed transportation workers to go back to work. so signing this bill and getting relief out the door swiftly is absolutely essential, but it's only a temporary step. the relief i signed into law will last about a month and that's why i'm calling congress to extend this relief through the end of the year. and because the best form of economic relief is a quality job, i'm also calling on congress to pass jobs measures that cut taxes, increase lending, incentivize expansion for businesses, both large and small. both the house and the senate have passed a bill that would give businesses a payroll tax refund for every person hired this year. and for companies that are considering expanding, this credit could help them decide to bring an extra employee or two this year, so for companies like o power that are doing pretty well and already expanding, the tax credit may help them decide to hire even more workers more quickly. instead

they threw 500,000 americans off health insurance, the cobra program that they were involved in.threw 400,000 hard-hit unemployed americans off unemployment insurance. they stopped construction projects in their tracks, nearly $50 million of projects in virginia that were employing people. and they led to the furlough of 2,000 federal transportation workers. this was, you know, the kind of thing we've come to see, they're working on a little procedural game and it's not about spending. these are the same guys that voted against the pay-go legislation that the president proposed. they were pulling a stunt, an obstructionist stunt, and it cost hundreds of thousands of americans unemployment benefits or health insurance. >> larry: how do you respond to that, michael? >> there's a lot of drama around what the chairman just said and it makes for great theater in washington, but the reality of it is, none of that was going to happen at the end of the day, that, you know, all of these things were just going to come to a screeching halt. at the end of the day, we were going to get to the

i spent half of my social security income on a cobra plan that is about to run out and i am sure no company will pick me up with his preexisting condition. my wife and i make a little too much to qualify for any program in our situation is not unique. what i'm excited about is if we pass this legislation we can say to people we are working on changing insurance company so they can't deny you for preexisting conditions. people keep talking about this government take over. frankly, it is not a government take over. it is not more government bureaucracy and maybe is this constituent tells me we would be better off with a little more government bureaucracy. this is from a guy named bill who was a fisherman in my district and i have many fishermen and many struggle because they are self-employed. he says i have a serious issue, in order to get cheap and i have to go to my general practitioner and get a referral from the specialist who generally argues about why i need this. then he sends a request to the insurance company referral specialist who also argues to get out of paying. we paid premiums

down vote that was cast on health care reform, on children's health care program that was used for cobra, health coverage for the unemployed and by the way for both bush tax cuts. all of which had to pass congress with nothing more than a simple majority. i have therefore asked leaders in both houses of congress to finish their work and schedule a vote in the next few weeks. from now until then, i will do everything in my power to make the case for reform. and i -- [applause] -- and i urge every owner in make their voice heard as well. every family, every business, every patient, every doctor, every nurse, every physicians' assistant, make your voice heard. this has been a long and wrenching debate. it has stoked great passions among the american people and their representatives. and that's because health care is a difficult issue. it is a complicated issue. if it was easy, it would have been solved long ago. as all of you know from experience, health care can literally be an issue of life or death and as a result it easily lends itself to gamesmanship and misrepresentation and misunders

one senator held up a bill with a variety of expiring provisions, unemployment insurance, cobra benefits and it included money for transportation. and the majority leader harry reid decided to throw in the towel on friday and the provisions expired. so what they have to do is create a new law that restarts the programs. and they will probably do it retroactively. but in the meantime the democrats have a new political football to play with. >> i'm surprised that republicans would do this. because it seems at a time like this, thisis a tough position to put yourself in. >> it's a risky position and i'm not sure all of the republicans agreed with what senator bunting from kentucky was doing. he is retiring so he doesn't have to run for re-election but it is a sensitive budgetary time and it gave some of them a chance to talk about deficit reductions. you keep expending the programs of where are you coming up with the money. it goes back to the traditional talking points. >> how fast could this get resolved? is this something that will get dragged on? >> i think they're talking within days.

dear president obama, i don't yet qualify for medicare, cobra is about to run out, i am desperate, don't know what to do. do it for them. do it for people who are really scared right now, through no fault of their own who played by the rule, who have done all the right things, and suddenly found out that because of an accident, because of an ailment, they're about to lose their house or they can't provide the help to their kids that they need or they're a small business that up until now has always taken pride in providing care for their workers and it turns out they just can't afford do it anymore and they have to make a decision do i keep providing health insurance for my workers or do i just drop their coverage or do i not hire some people because i simply can't afford it? it is all being gobbled up by the insurance companies? don't do it for me. don't do it for the democratic party. do it for the american people. they're the ones who are looking for action right now. i know there is a tough vote. and i am actually confident, i've talked to some of you individually, that it will end u

request to simply pass by unanimous consent this package of benefits that include unemployment and cobra, which is the health insurance program and highway projects. a whole package of things. a short-term package. but bunning said if democrats and republicans, who widely support this, can't figure out a way to pay for this, just $10 billion, then how can they pay for anything? so he claims that he's taking a principled stand. now, democrats point out very quickly that when this rule known as pay-as-you-go was made part of the senate rules, bunning had voted against it then. but now he's concerned about the deficit, taking this position. so what can democrats do? well, first off, they didn't expect it, so they were scrambling a bit. and now they're going to try to retroactively store all of these benefits in a larger package that will include things aimed at jobs like tax cuts for small businesses and so forth and these extension of benefits and they're going to try and do it that way to sort of get around the bunning objection. but he has certainly got a lot of attention over the last f

the internship was unpaid and we could not afford cobra." end the quote there for a second.r weeks on extending cobra health insurance to those who are unemployed. a safety net not only for trish aurban and her family at -- tricia urban and her family at that time, but so many american families, millions of them, especially in the midst of a terrible recession. but then she picks up here and imquoting again. quote -- "because of preexisting conditions, neither my husband's health issues nor my pregnancy would be covered under private insurance. i work four part-time jobs and was not eligible for any health benefits. we ended up with a second-rate health insurance plan through my husband's the university. when medical bills started to at up, the insurance company decided to drop our coverage stating that the internship did not qualify us for benefits." i'll just commen -- i'll just cn that section. you have the insurance company dropped our coverage problem. this is information we've heard over and over again. testimony from real people about what insurance companies in ameri

cobra does not work. i could not afford cobra when i was laid off. most people who are out of work, the first thing on their list would be making sure that their health care is taking care of. host: clyde on the independent line. good morning. caller: 85% of people have health care access. 65% of those people are happy with their health care. 70% of people work for small businesses. jobs are definitely more important. if people get jobs, then they will be able to afford health care. however, what people do not want -- three out of four people do not on this health care package. you can look at the government. you could look at the government's history and their past record with programs. look at social security. it did pay for itself, but now it is going broke. the government has been spending the money. host: let me jump in. the statistics that you gave when you first started talking -- i think many people have heard those before. remind everybody where you saw them. caller: i got a lot of those from congress and from listening to the debate that we

had worked for a large company, started her own franchise, and she writes, i quote, i exhausted my cobra, then joined a group health plan. several years ago, hade open health surge -- open heart surgery. the insurance group disbanded, no insurance company would tump me with a 10-foot pole. i was just diagnosed with my second bout of breast cancer. i heard from a young man he was diagnosed with cancer, he was laid off, uninsured, when he started to get sick again he had to turn to emergency rooms for care. i yield myself 15 additional seconds. republicans have turned their backs on the problem. some say health care reform makes us a different nation. today in the tradition of america we will pass health care reform, we will make beloved america a still better nation. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from michigan, mr. camp, is recognized for 10 minutes as the designee of the minority leader. mr. camp: thank you, madam speaker. i yield myself one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. camp: the american peopl

it also extended cobra. it extended financing for small businesses and makes it possible for two thousand furloughed transportation workers go back to work. signing this bill, and getting it released swiftly, it is essential. it is only temporary. the relief i signed into law will last about one month. i am calling on congress to extend this through the end of the year. the best form of economic relief is a quality job. i am also called on congress to pass measures to increase lending and incentives for businesses large and small. >> this tax credit may aspire to hire more workers quickly. we will see. instead of 100, we'd like it one time, -- instead of 100, we might get 110, or 115 [applause] >> now, even as we fight to help the private sector create more jobs and fight to bring about a full economic recovery, we know that there have been success stories all across america. çthis is a company that works with utilities to help folks understand. energy costs and how theyç can save money on their energy bil

in 2008, they were paying $577 per month for health insurance under the cobra program. they each had a clean bill of health and had no reason to fear illness or injury. but when their cobra coverage ran out on the first day of 2009, their premiums jumped up to over $1,000 per month. they had no idea why the change was so drastic. they were perfectly healthy, yet their monthly bills had almost doubled. so to try to save money, linda and her husband switched to the individual insurance market and got a plan with a $5,000 deductible and a large co-pay. the switch was easy. they didn't even have to get a physical exam. and like many americans, they had every reason to believe that their coverage was secure. but when linda's husband got sick in october of 2009, he had a successful bypass surgery. an insurance provider approved the procedure ahead of time. but once the surgery was completed, the company simply changed its mind. even though linda and her husband had never been treated for previous heart problems, and even though he had not even been diagnosed with anything, bl

it also extended cobra so that folks who've lost their jobs don't lose their health insurance, and it extended financing for small businesses, and makes it possible for 2,000 furloughed transportation workers to go back to work. so signing this bill and getting relief out the door swiftly is absolutely essential. but it's only a temporary step. the relief i signed into law will last about a month. and that's why i'm calling [on] congress to extend this relief through the end of the year. and because the best form of economic relief is a quality job, i'm also calling on congress to pass jobs measures that cut taxes, increase lending, incentivize expansion for businesses both large and small. now, both the house and the senate have passed a bill that would give businesses a payroll tax refund for every person hired this year. and for companies that are considering expanding, this credit could help them decide to bring an extra employee or two this year. so for companies like opower that are doing pretty well and already expanding, the tax credit may help them decide to hire even more wo