cochrane? >> mr.try, united states fire administrator of the department of homeland security. i appreciate the opportunity to participate today in this discussion. since this is my first hearing following my confirmation, it's a great opportunity to participate in this important issue. i look forward to working with you on many other life, safety and fire prevention initiatives over the next three years. each year carbon monoxide poisoning kills or sickens thousands of americans. this colorless, odorless gas adheres to red blood cells faster than oxygen which interrupts the exchange of oxygen. consequently, the loss of oxygen leads to tissue damage and in some cases, death. from 1999 to 2004, approximately 450 americans died from unintentional carbon monoxide poisoning. on an annual basis, approximately 20,000 people visit emergency rooms and more than 4,000 are hospitalized due to carbon monoxide poisoning. approximately 73% of those exposures occur in homes. 41% occurred during the winter months bet

chairman, and ranking member cochran, for scheduling this hearing on this very important subject. and thank the witnesses for coming in. autism is a heartbreaking ailment. and of the many issues we have to face, among the toughest is talking to parents who have children who suffer from autism. and there's a real question of doing more. senator harkin and senator cochran and i have worked hard for funding on the national institutes of health and for a decade we were able to raise funding from 12 to $30 billion at a time when senator harkin and i have transferred the gavel. senator cochran chairman as of the full appropriations committee and regrettably that's not enough. i note that funding for autism was slightly under $52 million in 2000. up to $122 million and estimated to $141 and cdc's spending has increased from a little over a million to a little over $22 million. we have been successful in getting into the stimulus package, $10 billion, as you know, and it is my projection that some of that will be coming to autism. these funding levels are set by nih in order to avoid what

cochran,no. mr. bennett of colorado,aye. [no audio] mr. sessions,no.[no audio] [no audio] [no audio] [applause] mr. sanders -- [laughter] >>yes? >> mr. sanders, aye. mr. shelby -- no. [no audio] [no audio] >> and the other senators wishing to go toward change their vote? the amendment is passed. [no audio] >> i had a restless night worrying about bipartisanship and i think i found a way tested. nowhere in history have we found a way to make health care more affordable than today. this is a victory for the american people, those fortunate enough to have health insurance will be able to keep theirs and of those who do not will be able to have health insurance. this is a victory because we have affirmed that the ability to live a healthy life in our great country is a right and not merely privilege for the select few. this morning's vote brings us one step closer to making ted kennedy's dream a reality. it is the dream of americans which is part of that treatment ted kennedy. that has also become a reality. every step of this long process has been an enor

cochrane? >> mr. chairman, senators, other members of the committee, again, i'm calvin cochrane, associate administrator for the federal emergency management industry, united states fire administrator of the department of homeland security. i appreciate the opportunity to participate today in this discussion. since this is my first hearing following my confirmation, it's a great opportunity to participate in this important issue. i look forward to working with you on many other life, safety and fire prevention initiatives over the next three years. each year carbon monoxide poisoning kills or sickens thousands of americans. this colorless, odorless gas adheres to red blood cells faster than oxygen which interrupts the exchange of oxygen. consequently, the loss of oxygen leads to tissue damage and in some cases, death. from 1999 to 2004, approximately 450 americans died from unintentional carbon monoxide poisoning. on an annual basis, approximately 20,000 people visit emergency rooms and more than 4,00

it was previously offered by senator cochran of mississippi and establishes a standard for certification of safety of the drugs coming in. now, could the senator from kentucky describe to me what the new amendment, mccain amendment 3200 does? mr. mcconnell: fortunately, senator mccain is on the floor at this time, and i would like to ask him to describe -- mr. mccain: i'd like to say to my colleague, first of all, as is well known, the side-by-sides have been one side of the aisle and the other side of the aisle. if the lautenberg amendment were in order on the dorgan amendment as a side-by-side, that would obviously be a change from what we have been doing. basically, what my amendment does -- i think it makes some perfecting changes to the underlying -- the dorgan amendment. i think it makes a sense of the -- it has sense of the senate provisions. it has several other provisions which i think would help make it more effective. and i have to be very honest with my friend from illinois, it doesn't undermine the dorgan amendment. i think it supplements to the dorgan amendment just as the

senator cochran. >> thank you. i appreciate you coming to the hearing. as a committee, which tried to tailor programs of support, research that are needed that will help make positive contributions to solving the problems that you face personally or professionally. is there something that any of you have in mind to suggest -- i know miss halverson talk about financial support and to figure out ways to be more supportive, tangible benefits of some kind, insurance programs that may be the government can help support in terms of cost or premiums or sharing responsibility. it seems to me we have a lot of organic medical disabilities that come within the theambit at of insurance that this insurance is not being helped with. a wonder if you have any thoughts all along those lines. >> i would like to comment on this notion of early intervention and tell you about the study dr. insel was talking about. this was a study were children began the intervention below 30 months of age. it has been conducted with toddlers with autism. the children work randomized into e

cochran? >> mr.hairman, senator klobuchar, other members of the committee, again, i'm kelvin cochran, associate administrator for the federal emergency management agency united states fire administrator of the department of homeland security. i appreciate the opportunity to participate today in this discussion. and since this is my first hearing following my confirmation, it's a great opportunity to participate in this important issue and i look forward to working with you on many other life, safety and prior prevention initiatives over the next three years. each year carbon monoxide poisoning kills or sickens thousands of americans. this colorless, odorless gas adheres to red blood cells considerably faster than oxygen which interrupts the exchange of oxygen. consequently the loss of oxygen in the body leads to tissue damage and in some cases death. from 1999 to 2004, approximately 450 americans died from unintentional carbon monoxide poisoning. on an annual basis approximately 20,000 people visit e

cochrane, for instance. only one in bahrain, and none in saudi arabia are listed because of political considerations of the government of the countries who do not want to acknowledge u.s. bases there. it may be that organizations like military families speak out, an important organization of families and friends of active duty soldiers that are trying to end the war, to stop the soldiers from being at risk and to take care of them when they come home. they may have some ideas. you can reach them on their website. i wish i had a better recommendation for you. perhaps your member of congress would be willing to try. sometimes it is special forces troops, but sometimes it is ordinary troops on bases the u.s. does not want to a knowledge are there. host: palm springs, california. go ahead. caller: i am zacarias matthews' son. i wanted to make a comment. neither reason for him going into the air force is because he was -- the reason for him going to the air force was because he was offered a partial scholarship.

i've served with senator inouye and senator cochran, our ranking member, and senator ted stevens beforeim, and i can tell you that all of these gentlemen have led our defense appropriations committee and they have led it by assuring that our troops always have what they need, whether they are in the field of battle, which has been the case for part of our terms here, or whether they are not in the field of battle, which has also been the case for much of our term here. but it just so happens that our troops are on the field of battle today, and that's why i have supported this appropriations bill, supported it as a member of the defense appropriations subcommittee and certainly have assured that we have the appropriations that give our troops who are in harm's way today the support they need. i was in iraq this year, was in afghanistan and iraq last year visiting with those who are doing the work that keep us free, that allow us to speak on this floor, that allow us to have christmas holidays with our families. and there is not a better experience in my entire time in public life than t

i'm tom cochran, c.e.o.nd executive director of the united states conference of commares. -- mayors. in october of 1982, the conference of mayors, led by mayor dutch morrell, mayor of new orleans, led to the question of whether or not the federal government was responding to the demand that we had throughout our country at that time for emergency service, food, hunger and homelessness. and so it was that the mayor called for the united states conference of mayors to create a task force and to be the watchdog as well as the group of people that would work with the federal government to reach these goals. that was many presidents ago. some have been with us and some have not been with us. and so there's been some turbulence and confusion between the mayors and the federal government on this issue. but we are very pleased that today we have the government working with us. we have the obama administration with us today with people to come here and working night and day. we have a stimulus program that is out the

two of the biggest earmarks are from republican senators thad cochran and roger wicker of mississippi at a cost of $8 million for improvements to four rural state airports. one airport serves fewer than 100 passengers a day. and another the mid delta regional airport sees even less. by the way, i've seen the pork extended to both of those airports over the years. the new funds would come on top of $4.4 million the airports just received from the stimulus package. i am not making this up. we obviously have huge aviation and transportation needs this country and stuffing most millions of dollars in small, little used airports in mississippi is not a wise use of funds, said ellis. president obama had promised to curb the inclusion of earmarks in government spending bills but has yet to issue the threat of a veto. my friends, do not wait for threat of a veto. in march obama signed a $410 billion spending package that contained nearly 8,000 pet projects. quote, "i am signing an imperfect omnibus bill because it's necessary for the ongoing functions of government." obama said at the time. w

two of the biggest earmarks are from republican senators thad cochran and roger wicker of mississippi, at a cost of $8 million for improvements to four rural state airports. one airport serves fewer than 100 passengers a day. and another the mid delta regional airport sees even less. by the way, i've seen the pork extended to both of those airports over the years. the new funds would come on top of $4.4 million the airports just received from the stimulus package. i am not making this up. we obviously have huge aviation and transportation needs this country and stuffing most millions of dollars in small, little used airports in mississippi is not a wise use of funds, said ellis. president obama had promised to curb the inclusion of earmarks in government spending bills but has yet to issue the threat of a veto. my friends, do not wait for threat of a veto. in march obama signed a $410 billion spending package that contained nearly 8,000 pet projects. quote, "i am signing an imperfect omnibus bill because it's necessary for the ongoing functions of government." obama said at the time.

i'm tom cochran, ceo and executive director of uscm conference of mayors. the conference of mayors led by the mayor of new orleans, led a call for to question whether or not the federal government was responding to the demand that we had throughout our country for emergency service, food and hunger and homelessness. and so it was that a call for the united states conference of mayors to create a task force to be the watchdog as well as the group of people that would work with the federal government to reach these goals. that was many presidents ago. some have been with us and some have not been with us. and so there's been some turbulence and confusion between the mayors and the federal government on this issue. we are very pleased that today, we have a government working with us. we had the obama administration with us today, with people that have come here and are working night and day. we have a stimulus program that is out there. we have unemployment that is like a monster, raging in our cities. but we know that it would have been a hell of a lot worse

with senator cochran, my vice chairman, as my partner, we have tried to move 12 individual bills only to be thwarted by a few members. just a few members. that is why we are here and where we are today with an omnibus bill. as we look ahead, the consideration of fiscal year 2011 appropriation bills, i hope that all members of the senate will learn from the frustrations of this year. we can succeed in returning to regular order for appropriations. we just need a modicum of cooperation and the recognition that delay for the sake of delay serves no one's best interests, least of all the people of the united states. mr. president, i strongly support this clean bipartisan bill. i urge my colleagues to support it as well. i yield back the time. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: mr. enzi: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from wyoming. mr. enzi: i would ask unanimous consent that we dispense with the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. enzi: thank you, mr. president. for several weeks, i

cochran: mr. president thank you very much. i'm glad i was here to hear the remarks of the distinguished senator from hawaii. i serve on that subcommittee of defense appropriations with him and get to observe at close range the skill and effort and courtesy that is reflected in his service as chairman of our committee. it's a pleasure to serve with him and an honor to serve with him. he's provided leadership and cooperation, working with all senators -- not just members of our committee -- to move forward the carrying out of duties by the department of defense through our appropriations process. it's very important that the senate approve as soon as possible the funding that is contained in the bill that our committee has reported to the senate. it will help support and provide the resources necessary to carry out the missions that our men and women have in afghanistan in iraq, and around the world. safeguarding our freedoms, protecting our security interests. the department of defense is now operating under a continuing resolu

this amendment was previously offered by senator cochran, a republican. this something that people have known for a long time. i understand people may have forgotten what was in that. they can have the evening to looking to it over. but i will renew my request tomorrow. we're ready to legislate. mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: i just learned something from the majority leader, that, in fact, this is an amendment that has been around before. we just learned that from his comment having just received it shortly ago. nevertheless, we'll continue to talk and see if we can't move forward and make progress and give both sides the votes that they're clearly interested in having. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i appreciate the attitude of the republican leader. i think it's fair that they have a chance to look at that amendment. we'll be here in the morning to try to work through this. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from new jer

cochrane, for instance. only one in bahrain, and none in saudi arabia are listed because of political considerations of the government of the countries who do not want to acknowledge u.s. bases there. it may be that organizations like military families speak out, an important organization of families and friends of active duty soldiers that are trying to end the war, to stop the soldiers from being at risk and to take care of them when they come home. they may have some ideas. you can reach them on their website. i wish i had a better recommendation for you. perhaps your member of congress would be willing to try. sometimes it is special forces troops, but sometimes it is ordinary troops on bases the u.s. does not want to a knowledge are there. host: palm springs, california. go ahead. caller: i am zacarias matthews' son. i wanted to make a comment. neither reason for him going into the air force is because he was -- the reason for him going to the air force was because he was offered a partial scholarship.

senator kohl, senator bennett, and senator cochran had been very helpful in this regard. one other regulatory authorities should be mentioned before conclude. the problem with the drug ephedra is an illustration. we work together with senators harkin, in sin, and the chairman to pass a law in 2006 which mandated a system of adverse event reports to the fda regarding all series of events which are associated with the use of these products. i also want to mention that that government accountability office issued a report on the regulation of dietary supplements at the end of january. the reported that my opinion -- we in congress will continue to bite gao's regulations on how to improve the regulation of this industry. one of the important points the report raises is the lack of fda resources to enforce laws already on the books. i will continue to work with my colleagues in congress and the fda to provide more resources to the fda for dietary supplement oversight. and before i conclude, i want to stress an extremely important point -- since enactment of dshea, almost every

cochrane, for instance.rain, and none in saudi arabia are listed because of political considerations of the government of the countries who do not want to acknowledge u.s. bases there. it may be that organizations like military families speak out, an important organization of families and friends of active duty soldiers that are trying to end the war, to stop the soldiers from being at risk and to take care of them when they come home. they may have some ideas. you can reach them on their website. i wish i had a better recommendation for you. perhaps your member of congress would be willing to try. sometimes it is special forces troops, but sometimes it is ordinary troops on bases the u.s. does not want to a knowledge are there. host: palm springs, california. go ahead. caller: i am zacarias matthews' son. i wanted to make a comment. neither reason for him going into the air force is because he was -- the reason for him going to the air force was because he was offered a partial scholarship. can you really a

two of the biggest earmarks are from republican senators thad cochran and roger wicker of mississippiof $8 million for improvements to four rural state airports. one airport serves fewer than 100 passengers a day. and another the mid delta regional airport sees even less. by the way, i've seen the pork extended to both of those airports over the years. the new funds would come on top of $4.4 million the airports just received from the stimulus package. i am not making this up. we obviously have huge aviation and transportation needs this country and stuffing most millions of dollars in small, little used airports in mississippi is not a wise use of funds, said ellis. president obama had promised to curb the inclusion of earmarks in government spending bills but has yet to issue the threat of a veto. my friends, do not wait for threat of a veto. in march obama signed a $410 billion spending package that contained nearly 8,000 pet projects. quote, "i am signing an imperfect omnibus bill because it's necessary for the ongoing functions of government." obama said at the time. witbut i vie

senator kohl, senator bennett, and senator cochran had been very helpful in this regard. one other regulatory authorities should be mentioned before conclude. the problem with the drug ephedra is an illustration. we work together with senators harkin, in sin, and the chairman to pass a law in 2006 which mandated a system of adverse event reports to the fda regarding all series of events which are associated with the use of these products. i also want to mention that that government accountability office issued a report on the regulation of dietary supplements at the end of january. the reported that my opinion -- we in congress will continue to bite gao's regulations on how to improve the regulation of this industry. one of the important points the report raises is the lack of fda resources to enforce laws already on the books. i will continue to work with my colleagues in congress and the fda to provide more resources to the fda for dietary supplement oversight. and before i conclude, i want to stress an extremely important point -- since enactment of dshea, almost every

then we have kelvin cochran. the u.s. fire administrator -- u.s.nistration department of homeland security. so i want to welcome all of you all to the subcommittee today. thank you for your time. i know it is late in the same and you probably have a lot of other things you could be doing today, but thank you very much for your preparation and for those of you who travel, those of you, we appreciate you very much. mr. korn, do you want to leadoff the? [inaudible] >> am i on? one in our view gets very little attention so we very much appreciate the opportunity to increase the discourse here today. this subcommittee knows very well that safe kids u.s.a. spends just about every waking moment working to protect children from their number one killer. unintentional injury. this subcommittee and quite frankly, senator pryor and senator klobuchar, have been very helpful in that effort throughout the years that we know children and children's safety are in good hands with these two numbers of congress. that help continues here today. the vast lajoie of ameri

in mississippi,ed that cochran and roger wicker. in missouri, christopher bonn. in nebraska, mike johanns, in nevada john enson. in new hampshire, judd gregg. in north carolina, richard burke. in ohio, george voinovich. in oklahoma, tom coburn and james inhofe. in south carolina, jim dementhe and lindsey graham. in tennessee, alexander and bob corker. in texas, john cornyn and kay bailey hutchinson. in utah, robert bennett and orrin hatch. in wyoming, john bo rah sew and michael enby. please remember these names. these are people who have stole health care for this country -- who have staaled health care in this country. they watched as day after day, month after month, people get sick and even die because they have no health coverage. i assure each and every one of you that have done anything to obstruct health care, people will remember. maybe not the people who die, but the people who loved them. the people whose names i read at our website, namesofthedead.com. these are people who are gone but the names, the list grows every single day until we solve this pro

cochran: i think that we have to say it, this patient protection and affordable care act is controversialit sounds like just what the doctor ordered, but you look at it closely, doctors are not favorably impressed with it. neither are the taxpayers, especially those who earn less than $200,000 a year. another issue that's troubled the pharmaceutical companies is the reimportation of drugs. the f.d.a., the food and drug administration has concerns about that. if the senate tries to ignore these and other serious concerns about the bill before the senate, it will be an act of hope over reality. which this senator cannot support. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. burris: thank you, mr. president. i rise, of course, to speak on our health care legislation. mr. president, the united states senate is the greatest deliberative body that this world has ever known. and since the inception of this body, its members have practiced and perfected the art of compromise. it's been said that politics is the art of possible. and this chamber's teeming with exp

pleased to be here to have the opportunity to join the mayors and i want to say thank you to tom cochrans been a tremendous leader on this issue and others. particularly to my colleague, the undersecretary, and i'm happy to give a federal perspective on the findings of the conference of mayors. i want to say thank you to the more than two dozen cities who are on the frontlines. as you just heard, tackling the difficult issues of homelessness -- we have taken the time to learn what they're doing on the ground and their leadership. while these are difficult times for everyone, it's clear nobody is feeling the force of this economic crisis more powerfully than those who are homeless or facing the prospect of losses. indeed, one of those tragic consequences of our housing and economic crisis is those who fall into homelessness as a result of foreclosures or other financial problems. this study reveals as did the head steady which released in july -- the hud study we released in july, almost families are on the rise. we found an increase of 56% in the rural and suburban family home with us. w

cochrane, for instance.rain, and none in saudi arabia are listed because of political considerations of the government of the countries who do not want to acknowledge u.s. bases there. it may be that organizations like military families speak out, an important organization of families and friends of active duty soldiers that are trying to end the war, to stop the soldiers from being at risk and to take care of them when they come home. they may have some ideas. you can reach them on their website. i wish i had a better recommendation for you. perhaps your member of congress would be willing to try. sometimes it is special forces troops, but sometimes it is ordinary troops on bases the u.s. does not want to a knowledge are there. host: palm springs, california. go ahead. caller: i am zacarias matthews' son. i wanted to make a comment. neither reason for him going into the air force is because he was -- the reason for him going to the air force was because he was offered a partial scholarship. can you really a