the next baker will be chairman henry waxman. >> thank you very much. i am henry waxman, chairman of the energy and commerce committee and i am pleased to join with my colleagues and our respective committees that will have jurisdiction over this healthcare matter. in presenting a draft proposal from which we seek further comment by the public and our colleagues as we fashion a legislation. the draft is a very practical one, and it is a uniquely american proposal. of biltz on what works and fixes what needs to be fixed. first, we encourage the retention of insurance provided by employers, which is the way most people have their insurance. in other words, as the president has said the many occasions, if you have insurance and you like it, you get to keep it. secondly, we are going to address difficulties individuals and small businesses face in the current market. today people can't get coverage if they have a preexisting medical condition. secondly, to many people are charged higher premiums, even if they can get insurance, because of their health statu

henry waxman began by quoting a prophet, " a journey of 1,000 miles begins with a singe ste p." we are taking an important step that will save lives and dollars. i want to thank the people on stage and the members of congress in the audience that fought so long for this to happen. i want for you to feel good about the service that you have given to this country. thank you very much. [applause] >> there you go. [applause] [applause] [applause] [laughter] [laughter] >> they were slicing me up. i was fresh out of law school. [inaudible] >> congradulations. we appreciate it. thank you. [applause] [applause] >> today, an iranian panel monitoring the presidential election said that the date -- a number of votes cast was more than the number of voters. next on c-span, we will hear john mccain on the protests in iran. then we will get a reaction from the state department, and after that, the son of the former shah of iran at the national press club. >> how is c-span funded? >> through donations? >> you have some from the federal government? >> there will be sponsors? >> government fundi

when henry waxman open that first hearing back in 1994, he began by quoting an ancient proverb.of a thousand miles must begin with a single step. our journey for change is far from over, but with the passage of the kids tobacco legislation that i am about to sign, we're taking a very important step that will save lives and dollars. i want to thank members of congress and all the help advocates that fought so long for this to happen. we hope that you feel good about the extraordinary changes will bring to this country. >> thank you very much. let's go sign the bill. >> there we go. [applause] nabhan >> thank you guys. [applause] >> thank you guys. >> now, part of monday's white house briefing with secretary robert gibbs. topics include the announcement of a plan to cover medicare prescription blood costs -- mid costs. this is about 30 minutes. >> wow. >> let me just make a quick statement on something that the first lady is going to speak about this afternoon. today, the administration is kicking off the summer service initiative. it is a call to all americans to join in a volunt

i worked with chairman, with henry waxman in the house of representatives. and senator kennedy, senatorred ssenatordodd and congressman wae never given up and i am appear tich particularly to senator dodd. i boil this issue down to almost one sentence: i remember sitting in front of the "help" committee in the house of representatives many years ago and seeing the tobacco company executives stand in front of us, raise their right hand and swear to tell the truth and they didn't exactly tell the truth when they talked about nicotine not being an addiction but i learned one simple concept that we have known this number for years, 400,000 americans die every year from tobacco-related illness. that means on the average more than 1,000 americans die every single day from tobacco-related illnesses. no if you are a tobacco executive, mr. president, what you think about is this: you've lot 4 hundred dho 400,000 custou need to replenish your base much what do you do? you need to find 400,000 new customers every year. you don't go to people of senator dodd's and my ge

when henry waxman open that first hearing back in 1994, he began by quoting an ancient proverb. a journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step. our journey for change is far from over, but with the passage of the kids tobacco legislation that i am about to sign, we're taking a very important step that will save lives and dollars. i want to thank members of congress and all the help advocates that fought so long for this to happen. we hope that you feel good about the extraordinary changes will bring to this country. >> thank you very much. let's go sign the bill. >> there we go. [applause] [applause] >> thank you guys. [applause] >> thank you guys. [applause] >> how is c-span funded? >> publicly funded? >> donations, maybe. >> government? >> it gets its funding through the taxes. >> it is a public funding thing. >> i do not know. >> how is c-span funded, 30 years ago, america's cable companies created c-span as a public service, a private business initiatives. no government mandate, no government money. >> a look at a senate hearing on the future of high-speed passe

she's been the one kind of pushing the chairman of the house energy and commerce committee henry waxman all along this process from the get-go she's probably responsible for henry waxman sitting in the energy commerce and -- spot. that was a decision made right after the election last november that pretty much kickstarted this entire process to try to move this bill through. she's someone from san francisco who's been a big environmentalist her whole career. this is an issue that environmentalists have been trying to get on the agenda on capitol hill for a long time, for many many years. and they've faced opposition for eight years under the bush administration. this is poised to be the first ever house floor vote on cap and see -- cap-and-trade bill. >> the climate change bill itself, cap-and-trade and what else are the key aspects of this bill? >> cap-and-trade is probably the biggest piece. it's an overall cap on united states greenhouse gas emissions, the declines over the next 40 years allows companies to buy and sell permits that allow them to pollute more than they're required to

changed -- and speaker nancy pelosi and henry waxman changed but ththe . there was a gap between the majority and the minority, there is little the republicans can do. host: let's get to our first call from new york. caller: thank you for cspan. ne congressman that bloated -- any congressman that voted for the cap and trade bill should be impeached because they did not read the bill perr and. they should allow the american people to read it. the ron paul website explains it better than i can. i would like to hear them talk about ron paul at the federal reserve. caller: it is important to read the bill. guest: cap and trade has been going on for a decade. this is been a gradual process. we have had debates for a while. john mccain has been a leader in pushing similar legislation. this agenda did not surprise anybody. it is one that president-elect barack obama campaigned on. the details were well-understood by leaders of both parties in the house. host: the president expressed doubt about the tariff provision in the bill. does he go into this negotiation wi

>> well, this summer we're publishing henry waxman's the waxman report in july.'s a look back at some of the legislation that the congressman has been involved with, tobacco, clean air, nutritional labels and what he does is complains to us how collisions are built, how bills get moved to the subcommittees to committees. how you collect votes and it's really a look at how the sausage is made and, of course, the congressman has got a couple of big bills going on the floor. >> did you approach henry waxman or did he approach you. >> our publisher approached the congressman and thought that he would be the perfect person to explain how congress works and i should add that josh green has written with with the congressman and done a fantastic job, so. >> another book by peter peterson. >> pete peterson has lived a fairly phenomenal life. he was born in 1926, raised by greek immigrants. was the born into the depression-era nebraska, worked in his father's diner. found himself the secretary of commerce for nixon, chairman, ceo of lehman brothers and cofounded the black

>> well, this summer we're publishing henry waxman's the waxman report in july. it's a look back at some of the landmark legislation that the congressman's been involved with, tobacco, clean air, nutritional labels, and what he does is he explains to us how coalitions are built, how bills get moved from subcommittees to the committees, how you collect votes, and it's really a look at how the sausage is made. and, of course, the congressman's got a couple big bills this summer, so we expect a lot of attention from that. >> did you approach henry waxman, or did he approach you sh. >> our publisher approached the congressman and thought he would be the perfect person to explain, and i should add that josh green from atlanta monthly has written it with the congressman and done a fantastic job. >> another book by peter peterson. >> he's lived a fairly phenomenal life. he was born in 1926, raised by greek immigrants, was born into the depression era in nebraska, found himself the secretary of commerce for nixon. chairman, ceo of lehman brothers and later co-founded the

you see, that's exactly what henry waxman and others in this body do when it comes to teenage sex. they say, ok, by this body democrats and republicans in joint we have both. we promote abstinence while we also have policies that promote harm reduction. and our efforts to lower sexually transmitted diseases. with regard to h.i.v., there are needle exchange programs. while we also try to promote abstinence. but all of a sudden now when it comes to tobacco approaches that we take in other forms of public health, whether it's in sanitary, whether it's in sanitary issues or whether it's in teenage sex issues or in h.i.v. issues, all of a sudden we don't want to apply it to tobacco. it is a curious thing for me that we don't want to apply harm reduction strategies to tobacco. so i would say to my good friend, mr. waxman, i think where we are is that you can have your day in the light. you have earned it.

>> this summer we are publishing henry waxman, the waxman report in july, it is a look back some of the landmark legislation of the congressman has involved involved with, tobacco, clean air, nutritional labels and what he does is explained to us how coalitions are built, how bills can move from subcommittees' to committees, how you collect votes and it is really a look and how the sauce is made in and, of course, the congressman has a couple big bills coming on the floor this summer. >> did you approach henry waxman or did he approach to? iraq are publisher approached him and thought that he would be the perfect person to explain how congress works and i should add that josh green from the atlantic monthly did a fantastic job. >> another book by peter peterson. >> he has lived a fairly low nominal wife. born in 1926, raised by greek immigrants will, was born into the depression era in nebraska and were tennis fathers diamond, found himself secretary of commerce for nixon, chairman and ceo of lehman brothers and beta the blackstone group and here we are in the greatest recession since t

henry waxman struck a deal with some conservative democrats. that bill has now cleared. now it is a situation where other committee chairman has some major concerns with the bill, as well as a couple other committee chairs. nancy pelosi is taking a hands- on approach to get this bill to the floor. she told committee chairs that they have until june 19th, the end of this week to move the bills through their committees. then she will bring it to the floor. it remains uncertain whether these committees will actually market up. then, it is a matter of bringing it to the house floor. the senate moves on a different track. they have their own issues with the climate change language that has been very difficult to get through the senate. harry reid is moving through the upper chamber. he later said if the house can move a bill, then he can move a bill. this is speaker policies -- nancy pelosi is flagship bill. whether she can get this through the house. if the kids to the house, it will pick up momentum with a push from the white house. you never know. host: in more mundane iss

i want to thank the energy and commerce committee, henry waxman, his colleagues, and everyone such as charlie rangel, the chair of the agricultural committee for their many ongoing contributions to this process. i want to express my appreciation to nancy pelosi for her leadership. we know what this is so important. the nation that leaves in the creation of a clean energy economy will be the nation that leaves the 21st century global economy. that is what we seek to achieve. we want a bill that will open the doors to a better future of this nation. i urge members of congress to come together and pass it. the last issue of want to address is health. congress is considering various health care proposals. this is a complicated issue. i am very optimistic about the progress they are making. like energy, this is legislation that will be paid for. it will not add to our deficit over the next decade. we will find the money through savings and efficiencies through the health-care system, some of which we have already announced. we will insure that the reform we pass will bring down the cost of

she is pushing -- -- she is pushing henry waxman all along from the get go. she is probably responsible for spot. that was a decision made right after the election last november that pretty much kept started this entire process to try to move this bill through. she is someone from san francisco who has been a big environmentalist all of her career. they rarely faced opposition. this is poised to be the first vote on cap and trade legislation. for nancy pelosi, this is one of her biggest issues. >> the climate change bill itself, cap and trade, and what else of the key aspects of this bill? >> cap and trade is probably the biggest piece. it allows companies to buy and sell permits that allow them to pollute more than they are required to and other companies that are cleaning up market to sell to other companies. the major position -- another major provision will push the united states to try to get as much clean energy from solar and wind over the next 15 or 20 years. there is some wiggle room that allows some states to do more and other states to do less. the

henry waxman and company didn't roll in until 3:00 in the morning, it seems like forever ago, but that bill came out and a lot of questions about what was in it and who read it. john boehner went page by page reading around what those pieces were and kind of just, i think, it was an opportunity for him to just extend the debate and make sure his points were heard. as the votes were being counted later, you heard the republicans chanting "b.t.u." on the floor, a reminder of the 1993 energy tax vote that the democrats in the house took under the president's urging, and a lot of people say that vote in 1993 went to the republican takeover in '94. the republicans are trying to bring back some history. the john shad ok said this was the first step for the democrats to go back into the minority in 2010. >> thanks for bringing us up to speed with the p process so far on the energy and climate change bill. >> happy to do it. take care. public funded. >> donations, maybe. i don't have any idea. >> government. >> c-span gets funning through the taxes. >> i don't know. >> how is c-span funded? 30

the bill introduced by henry waxman and supported by medical groups that are engaged in a crusade against the tobacco industry, that's a problem. in a blind desire to kill tobacco manufacturers, the waxman bill may end up hurting smokers. and it goes on and on and on. again, an endowed share of a major academic institution which says don't do this. well, how about michael seagull, professor in social and behavioral science. get this: boston university. school of public health, home of the author of the bill. los angeles time op-ed, june 3, not long ago. let me read a couple excerpts out of mr. seagull's op-ed. "in the end, it ensures federal regulation of tobacco products will remain more about politics than about science. h.r. 1256 gives the f.d.a. the ability to lower nicotine levels in cigarettes. since h.r. 1256 locks current users into cigarettes only by banning, reduced risk products, h.r. 1256 ensures that 40 million americans who currently smoke are doomed to death and disease associated with cigarette smoking. h.r. 1256 will cost lives, not save lives. this is a professor in the

and on the house side there are many powerful and smart people committed to healthcare reform henry waxman is among one of the leaders that is a unique combination of talent that want to get something done and they understand the problems and what is doable and i think we have a chance to really have a difference and put ourselves on the right course to changing our system so we can get full coverage of americans at a reasonable cost and with high quality for the first time. thank you very much [applause] >> thank you very much ekekiel emanuel for your comments this evening i am the editorial page editor from the san princess go conoco will not only have a full house but an active house with quite a few questions so let's get right to them. first of all, probably have the questions we receive are in one way or another related to the criticism of the single payer system. so let's start with one asking you to elaborate on the comment in your book that single payer will break the bank quota of quotes you deserve one of your concerns it is very difficult to have cost controls. how? how difficu

this deal last weekend between the agriculture committee chairmen and it speaker nancy pelosi and henry waxman kind of changed things quickly for republicans. the republicans that will it push against this energy bill, but was such a big gap between the majority and minority in house seats there is little they can do. host: let's go to calls. first up this is richard on the republican line from new york. go ahead. caller: thank you for c-span. they just passed the cap and trade legislation and house. in the congressman who voted for that should be impeached because there were not allowed to read the bill. just like the patriot act. but they did not read the bill. how can you vote on something you did not read? now with question if they go to the senate if they should allow the american people to read it online for seven days before they vote on it. this is treasonous. i would like a campaign for liberty. ron paul's site tops a lot about it. host: the importance of being able to read the bill? guest: it is important, but this cap and trade bill has been going on for decades. it has been gradual

we will hear first from committee chairman, henry waxman. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2009] >> then february, president obama called upon congress to enact legislation to reform america's health-care system. in april, governor kathleen sibelius was sworn in as secretary of health and human services. her department has the lead responsibility for improving the health of the american people. last friday, i joined with the chairman rangel and chairman miller to propose a discussion draft on health reform. this morning, we have the honor of hearing secretary sibelius' present the administration's views on the discussion draft. based on her contributions today and on what we will hear and learn from, the 50 state holders appearing before the said committee this week, and on the input from the members, we will revise the discussion draft and introduce a bill for consideration by the three committees. our legislation will reduce health-care costs. it will cover all ameri

colleague from massachusetts, senator kennedy, mite, mike dewine, our former colleague from ohio, henry waxman from california, tom davis of virginia in a bipartisan basis have tried year in and year out to get this done. we haven't been able to achieve it. so i know the game. but this is not a game. this is life and death with people. for 10 long years we've. mr. bennet: able to pass legislation -- mr. dodd: for 10 long years we've not been able to pass this legislation. if people are going to insist on long-term amendments based 0 on a short-term appeal, we will have done great damage. so i appreciate immensely the position the majority leader has taken. and my colleagues know because i did go through the process last week in our committee. there are any number of appealing amendments. and i want to thank the members of the committee who wanted to vote for some of those amendments. i see my good friend jeff merkley from oregon here, a member of the committee. there are a number of amendments that he and i would have liked to have supported including daicial penalties and fines. but we know f

"the new york times" read about yesterday, including a photograph of henry waxman, who will be on "washington journal" on monday, july 6, to talk about his new book. it will limit emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat- trapping gases. kevin is on the phone. caller: thank you for having me on i want to know how the congressman can sit there with a straight face and talk about how our power is not going to go up. it will, and it will go up substantially. all these congressman in congress, they're full of hot air. but the cap and trade on that. we would make a lot more money off of them. host: "here we go with nancy pelosi, where citizens will pay the price." guest: i do not like being a one-trick pony, but since the gentleman came back to price, i point out again that these are not my numbers. these are the numbers that have been derived from an independent analysis conducted by the environmental protection agency, and i did not say that it would be no cost. i think i was very clear that you cannot have an effective control program without some element of cost. but the cost for the typical

i want to thank the chair of the energy and commerce committee, henry waxman, his colleagues on that committee, including congressman dingell, ed markey and rich boucher. i also want to thank charlie rangel, the chair of the ways and means committee and collin peterson, the chair of the agricultural committee, for their many and ongoing contributions to this process. and i want to express my appreciation to nancy pelosi and steny hoyer for their leadership. we all know why this is so important. the nation that leads in the creation of a clean energy economy will be the nation that leads the 21st century's global economy. that's what this legislation seeks to achieve. it's a bill that will open the door -- door door to a better future for this nation and that's why i urge members of congress to come together and pass it. the last issue i'd like to address is health care. right now congress is debating various health care reform proposals. this is obviously a complicated issue but i am very optimistic about the progress that they're making. like energy, this is legislation that must an

the speaker file the legislation with the rules committee last night even though its authors henry waxman and ed markey are still working out a deal with collin peterson. lighthouse coverage at 10:30 a.m. on c-span. finally, -- live coverage of the house at 10:30 a.m. eastern. an investigator for the subway train accidents as a was part of an aging fleet that federal regulators have recommended three years ago to be phased out or retrofitted. those are some of the latest headlines on c-span rita. "washington journal" continues. host: we want to welcome our guests to c-span, bob schieffer. guest: thank you. host: how you view where we are at at this moment in time? guest: i can ever recall a time when the president has faced more serious issues. you look at north korea and the threat that poses right now. you look at iran and the the middle east, then afghanistan, pakistan. i still think that the border is still the most dangerous place in the world. that is not to mention iraq or what is going on in this country. then you have the financial crisis we have been going through in this countr

>> well, this summer we are publishing henry waxman's the waxman report in july. it is a look back on the landmark legislation to the congressman has been involved in, tobacco, clean air, nutritional labels and what he does is explains to us how coalitions are built, how bills could move from subcommittees' to committees, how you collect votes and it is a look at how the sauce is made. of course, of a congressman has a couple big bills coming on the floor so we expect attention to that. >> did he approach you? >> are published and -- our publisher approached him and thought that he would be the perfect person to explain how congress works i should add that josh marine of the atlantic monthly has written to the congressman and did a fantastic job. >> and other book by peter peterson. >> pete peterson has lived a fairly normal life. born in 1926, raised by greek immigrants, was born into the depression era nebraska and worked at his father's diner, found himself the secretary of commerce for nixon and a chairman and ceo of lehman brothers and later founded the black

strengthen through the floor process but one of the lessons that we learn in this is chairman henry waxman who is arguably one of the most passionate advocates of a clean energy economy was also the chief negotiator on the spell. hard to be a champion and a negotiator at the same time there and what we as a movement did not recognize is we would be doing chairman waxman a favor by elevating voices from the progressive caucus, elevating other who have the ability because they were responsible forgetting a bill at committee to be that voice of saying we can do more. americans want more, there are more jobs possible if we commit more in this bill and that is our job as a movement. a third dichotomy we would like to smash is we either hang together as a movement or all parts. i am a trained ecologist, i believe that the most vibrant ecosystems are the most diverse ecosystems. i believe that of social change ecology as well. we're so proud to be part of a new coalition efforts called unity and 09, it was formed to help pass president obama's agenda and doing a great job, we're building progress

worked with my colleague, the distinguished chairman of the house energy and commerce committee, henry waxman, the gentleman from california, on this legislation, commend him for his leadership on this issue as well as former congressman tom davis. i yield back and encourage a yes vote. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from indiana. mr. buyer: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. buyer: it is nicotine that causes the consumption of tobacco. so i understand how truly, in my words, outraged then chairman waxman was and still is with regard to testimony that occurred years ago when he was the chairman of the subcommittee on health. now, if it's the -- strike the word tobacco, if it's the nicotine for which adult users receive their satisfaction, the real issue is how do they gain access to nicotine in a manner that reduces their health risk? that's the issue. that's my passion. i am not a smoker. i don't advocate for people to smoke. my charge and challenge is how do we improve public health i

for weeks, nervous democrats pleaded with energy and commerce chairman henry waxman and ed markey, two lead sponsors of this national energy tax for changes to their climate act bill. it would soften the blow to families in their states that they would suffer with this new energy tax. unfortunately, the bill passed the energy and commerce committee, is moving its way through congress and still is just a great big energy tax. the american people deserve better. republicans have held energy summits across the country to talk directly to the american people to talk about the democrats' costly energy plan and to develop real energy solutions that ensure american energy independence. congress must reject the democrats' national energy tax and deliver energy solutions that create a stronger economy and a cleaner environment. thank you, madam speaker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the chair has before the house the following enrolled bill. the clerk: h.r. 918 an act to designate the facility of the united states postal service locate the at 300 east third street in jamestown, new yor

legislation we are voting on today is a product of a long, decades long crew aid by our colleague, henry waxman, by senator edward kennedy, by the campaign for tobacco-free kids and scores of public health groups. and it is a big down payment on health care reform. mr. speaker, california alone spends over $9 billion annually treating tobacco-related diseases. this critical funding could be put towards our failing health care infrastructure and make health care more affordable for everyone. with its passage today, i hope this bill will become law promptly and i hope, mr. speaker, that c.b.o. will find the way to score the savings that come from this and other preventive health measures. if we can do this, we can find a way to cut the cost of health care reform, national health care reform, which is urgently needed this year. so as i see it, this is a down payment on health care reform and it's a down payment on the health of our children and our grandchildren. this bill will save lives and scarce resources. this bill is a slam dunk. vote aye on the rule and the underlying legislation, and i yie

henry who is still sitting over there had as well. all of you were fantastic and it's just a historic achievement and we thank you all so much for everything. mr. waxman: mr. speaker, i also want to add our appreciation to matt weiner, our staff assistance on this legislation. i feel empowered because i only asked for one minu and i've talked far more than one minute. but i guess that's become a new tradition in the house. but i don't want to abuse it and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from new york rise? >> mr. speaker, by direction of the committee on appropriations, i present a privileged report for filing under the rule. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk had report the title. the clerk: report to accompany h.r. 3081, a bill making appropriations for military construction, the department of veterans affairs and related agencies for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2010, and for other purposes. report to accompany h.r. 3082. the speaker pro tempore: referred to the union calendar and ordered printed. pursuant to clause 1 of rule 21, all points of order are reserved. for what p