with respect to senator klobuchar's comment, i will be chairing the hearing on the reauthorization.i assume we will be talk about the distraction in the come pit -- cockpits tomorrow with the national safety board. i listen with interest to my colleague, senator wicker. i have been involved in these issues for a long while. my mother was killed by a drunk driver in a high-speed police chase. i got involved in wondering how many states was it legal to drink and drive at the same time. put your key in the ignition, and have the bottle of gym beam and drive all all -- jim beam and drive all completely complying with the law. some states still do. you can drink and dry. just can't be drunk. i've been involved with madd, mothers against drunk driving, we didn't make process because we asked people to take this serious. yes, we used carrot and sticks. doesn't work without it unfortunately. i think here the issue is pretty clear. there are people losing their lives because of a change that's happening. and people are texting on the road. we all see it. we drive and watch and see what's goi

klobuchar: thank you very much. mr. president, i'm going to focus for the next ten minutes on the issue of cost. i know many people have focused on really important issues like the fact that this bill will finally eliminate the limitations on preexisting conditions so that if your kid gets circumstance you don't have to lose your -- gets sick, you don't have to lose your health care. the fact that people are going to be able to keep their kids onary health care until they're 26. niece are very important parts of this bill. the other thing that's very important for the people of my state and the things i heard about all over the last few months was the issue of costs and more affordable caivment and this is why. at $2.4 trillion per year, health care spending represents close to 17% of the american economy, and it will exceed 20% by the year 2018 if the current trend continues. hospitals and clinics are providing an estimated $56 billion nun compensated care -- in uncompensated care. in fact, peter o orszag wrote a piece

your suggestion about the need to hurry up, the immediacy of the problem, we heard it from senator klobuchar and that is start the penalty routine right away. other states that we are about to render penalties if you don't put action into force. but even if we can't do that, i think there probably is a way for the department of transportation to initiate a system that says okay, as of next month, we want to know about police enforcement of these rules. and start to save people's lives. >> mr. chairman, you know what the best thing was about this hearing? no one did their blackberries during it. every one was listening. there wasn't that much. there was a minimal blackberrying at the beginning and then it went away. >> alright, i think both of you very, very much. we have our work to do and this is just -- the discussion is going on for a long time, but 812,000, as we speak, hearing is adjourned. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] >> following the senate commerce during a bill was introduced in the senate as 1938 which would provide incentives for states drivers 18 and younge

klobuchar: thank you very much. mr.resident, i'm going to focus for the next ten minutes on the issue of cost. i know many people have focused on really important issues like the fact that this bill will finally eliminate the limitations on preexisting conditions so that if your kid gets circumstance you don't have to lose your -- gets sick, you don't have to lose your health care. the fact that people are going to be able to keep their kids onary health care until they're 26. niece are very important parts of this bill. the other thing that's very important for the people of my state and the things i heard about all over the last few months was the issue of costs and more affordable caivment and this is why. at $2.4 trillion per year, health care spending represents close to 17% of the american economy, and it will exceed 20% by the year 2018 if the current trend continues. hospitals and clinics are providing an estimated $56 billion nun compensated care -- in uncompensated care. in fact, peter o orszag wrote a piece f