yesterday senator kyl from arizona said and i quote -- "if you're an employee of a small business, for example, when your insurance contract runs out and those contracts are usually one year or two years, the bottom line is even though you may like it at the end of the next year when the contract runs out, you don't get to keep it." close quote. that's just not accurate. and i have to say that senator kyl is saying something that doesn't reflect the position of the president nor any democrat i know in congress. we believe, and we stand by this, that if you like your current health insurance plan, you'll be able to keep it. plain and simple. straightforward. senator kyl alluded to specific frustrations felt by small business owners across the country. well, believe me, i understand that issue better than some. i've been working with senator blanch lincoln of arkansas, senator snowe of maine, senator klobuchar of minnesota, to come up with a plan so that the small business owners will be able to afford health insurance. and i'm happy to say that at least at this moment in time there's an

this week on "newsmakers," we talked to senator jon kyl from arizona. that is sunday at 10:00 and at 6:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. >> there is still time to get your copy of c-span's 2009 congressional directory with information on house and senate members, the cabinet, supreme court justices, and the nation's governors. it is $16.95 online at cspan.org/products. >> the government funding of colleges and their students really is a late 1950's and early 1960's thing that has grown very rapidly since then. >> today, not even government- backed student loans are permitted at hillsdale college. >> we have a lawyer here in town who tries to keep the government from giving us money. he said there was not in use in title for funding. -- and use -- any use in title iv funding. >> today, bank of america ceo ken lewis was here on capitol hill testifying about his company's merger with financial services firm merrill lynch. committee members questioned mr. lewis about recently uncovered e-mail's suggesting that bank of america may have been unduly pressured into th

the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. mr. kyl: the senator from tennessee has been a leader in pointing out the problems that these health care expenditures would impose on our states. it is important for the governments of the states to begin to let washington know what they think about these new costs that they're going to have to bear. let me begin at the outset here on the same subject to make it clear that republicans are very eager for serious health care reform, just as i think the american people are. that's why we support new ideas that would actually cut health care costs and make all health care more affordable and accessible. republicans want to reform our medical liability laws to curb frivolous lawsuits. we want to strengthen and expand wellness programs that encourage folks to make healthy choices about smoking and diet and exercising. all of those have huge impacts on the cost of health care. we also want to address the needs of the unemployed, those who work for or own a small business, those with preexisting con

kyl: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. mr. kyl: thank you, madam president. when it comes to health care, republicans want reform that respects patient freedom and choice and maintain the doctor-patient relationship. we believe doctors, not washington, shaw should tailor e car. washington, d.c. would dispolice millions of americans who are happy with their current health insurance. federal bureaucracies are not known for being efficient, innovative or hassle free. on wednesday, the majority bhip said -- and i quote -- "those who come to the floor of the senate defending the health insurance companies and saying they want no change in health care system have to defend the indefensible." well, who, exactly, has come to the floor and said that? who on the senate, in the senate, has come to the floor and said they want no change? i know of no one who has done that. this is a strawman argument usually made when you can't win an argument on the merits but it has become the familiar refrain from friends on the other side of the aisle. they present a false choice bet

kyl: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. mr. kyl: i'd like to join the ranking member of the committee on which i sit, as well as the distinguished minority leader in asking the question of why we have to set a date right now on the hearing for judge sotomayor? there's no reason for us to do that because there's no way to know at this point whether we'll have our work done by that time. and historically -- and it's for good reason -- you want to have the review completed before you question the witness about the matters under review. that makes sense. so there's no reason to set that date today, and that is troublesome. we just don't know whether we'll be ready by the 13th or not, but there's a lot of history that suggests it's going to be very difficult to be ready at that time. the leader has just pointed out the fact that if you compare the work that was required to consider the nomination of the now-chief justice john roberts as opposed to this nominee, you've got more than ten times as many cases to look at with judge sotoma

kyl: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. mr. kyl: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that further proceedings of the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. kyl: thank you. mr. president, today i'd like to talk about a bill which today senator mcconnell and i introduced and i think a companion bill will be introduced by some of the leadership in the house of representatives. the number of the bill is 1259. and this bill is called the patients act. patient as in doctor and patient. and the idea is to focus on health care as it relates to patients. the health care reform should be patient centered. that nothing should come between the physician and the patient. and we're concerned that there is something that is being done that we need to stop because it could, in fact, insert government bureaucrats in between the patient and the physician. what's happened is that in the stimulus bill, the congress appropriated $1.1 billion for something called comparative effectiveness research. now, comparative ef

kyl: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. mr. kyl: the problems with the current state of health care in america are well known. republicans don't need to be convinced for the case for reform. we hear from our constituents who have concerns about their own health care dilemmas and those of their neighbors. we all agree that the millions of uninsured americans need access to high-health care. though we agree on the need for reform we have disagreements on how best to accomplish our goals. republicans favor a patient-centered approach that allows individuals to choose their own insurance, keep it if they like it, and never have to get permission from a washington bureaucrat to get the test or treatment that their doctors say they need. president obama wants congress to pass a sweeping new washington-run health care system that we believe would jeopardize the care most americans already have. such a system would likely lead to the collapse of private insurance and replace it with an enormous washington bureaucracy that would ration t

the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. mr. kyl: i commend my colleague from nevada for his excellent remarks and associate myself with him. i would like to speak to the issue of health care and the reform we are attempting in washington. little disagreement exists about the node for health care reform. routine trip to the doctor's office can be surprisingly expensive and many fear if they lose their jobs or if they switch they will be left without health care. others who are unemployed may wonder how they can afford to see a doctor at all. so the question is, how can we reform health care so everyone has access to high-quality care without changing what works for millions of americans? president obama wants to centralize power in washington to change the way health care is obtained by all. he would create what he calls a "public option." this would not be an insurance program run by the public but run by the federal government. that is to say, bureaucrats in washington. and i believe it would result in a one-size-fits-all governme

kyl: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. mr. kyl: mr. president, next week president aribe of colombia will be meze meeting with president obama at the -- meeting with president obama on obama aatthe white house. i support the colombia free trade agreement because of its importance to colombia but also because i think it's important for u.s. firms to gain access to markets of fast-growing developing nations abroad. our economy will revive only if we create jobs. enacting this colombia free trade agreement will help to do that. america's two-way trade with colombia reached $18 billion in 2007, making colombia our fourth largest trading partner in latin america and our largest export market for u.s. agricultural products in south america. exports are the only major sector of the private economy actually making positive contributions to u.s. economic growth. in my own state of arizona, nearly 40% of all of our manufactured goods were export exported. on average, net exports added more than one percentage point overall to our economic growth

the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. mr. kyl: thank you, mr. president. first of all i was going to interrupt and ask a question. but i simply confirmed with senator mcconnell, and i will state and the record can reflect the fact, i believe that senator mcconnell asked the question of where he would be released in he were acquitted. i don't believe that he asserted that he would be released into the united states. i just wanted to clear that up. obviously we can check the transcript and determine it. i think that was his intent because of the question that robert gibbs had posed. that is my understanding of it. we can resolve that. i would like to say a couple of other things. first of all, i think it is important to have this debate. the senate had a debate some weeks ago and it is true that 90 senators voted against funding a -- a program to close the prison at guantanamo bay. and six senators voted in favor of moving forward with that. i appreciate the senator from illinois starchily defending the lonely -- starchily defending the -- staunchl defending

from the endowment for international peace has the latest on the iranian elections. washington journal live at 7:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. >> on newsmakers, arizona senator john kyl, the minority whip, discusses healthcare issues and the senate agenda. newsmakers sunday at 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. >> a look at conservative leadership with remarks from rebekah hagelin from a conference at the clare boothe luce policy institute in washington. it's about 30 minutes. >> hello. my name is avila molina. i'm a summer intern with the clare boothe luce policy institute. our next speaker is a syndicated columnist, political commentator and acclaimed author. she's been married for almost 25 years and is the proud mother of three children. she served as the heritage foundation -- is currently their senior communications fell low. she has worked in public relations for the septemberer for judicial studies and director of communication of concerned women for america. she also found her own consult will business and was vice-president of communications at well net daily.com. she's been a strong conservative voice for many years advocating a pro-family message

kyl: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. mr. kyl: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the proceedings under the quorum yienchtsz with. and i ask to speak in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. kyl: thank you, mr. president. there are three things i'd like to specifically address today. there are three things i'd like the negotiations between the united states and the united nations between the start follow-on. specifically, i'm concerned that the administration is heading for a quontation with the senate that could easily be avoided. and i ask unanimous consent to submit two letters into the record at the conclusion of my remarks. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. kyl: thank you, mr. president. the first one is one i sent as the administrative cochairman of the senate's national security working group, the successor to the arms control observer group, to assistant secretary of state rose go -- tobacc o -- tobacco -- the response from ambassador michael pult, the then assistant acting secret