so, madam president, this is not reform. this actually drives up costs for 90% -- or keeps the same or drives up costs for 90% of americans. it does cut medicare and it does nothing to preserve the -- the presiding officer: the minority time has expired. mr. thune: i yield the floor. mr. baucus: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from montana. mr. baucus: i ask consent that ten more minutes of debate be allowed evenly divided. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. baucus: hearing no objection. madam president? the presiding officer: yes. without objection. mr. baucus: madam president, i would just like to state as clearly as i possibly can so, that people understand, that the savings, the medicare savings here are being used for medicare. there is a strong implication by many senators that savings are not used for medicare, they go someplace else. that's not true. the medicare savings are being used for medicare. what are the savings? i think all senators would like to reduce waste. all senators agre

thank you, madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california rise? >> to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. lungren: madam speaker, yesterday was a historic day. it will be a day which lives in economic infamy. the e.p.a. administer yesterday announced that endangerment finding. yes, co-2 is now a pollutant. that means everyone in this chamber, anyone out there who might be hearing us, you are now polluters. with every breath you take you emit co-2. this was never ever conceived by congress when it passed the clean air act. we now have a situation in which administrators are going to effectively control the entire economy and the way in which we live and the way in which we breathe. this is not the idea of freedom. this is in fact not an endangerment finding about clean air. this is an endangerment finding about our freedom. our fr

neal: thank you, madam speaker. madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. neal: madam speaker, i rise in support of the debt limit legislation we are considering today, and i want to thank mr. rangel for his hard work on the bill in the waning days of the congress in this first session. let me talk about what this bill does. this bill is simply about continuing operations for the federal government. that's the title of the legislation. continuing operations means getting the social security checks out on time, an almost sacred duty that we have. this means providing support for our troops and keeping our museums and our parks open. that is what an increase in the debt limit will allow. simply stated, this is about bills that have already been incurred. now, i will during my time here resist the temptation to become overly partisan and speak specifically to the issue that's in front of us until there is a misstatement of the facts in opposition. what this bill does not do is to increase or decrease sp

guthrie: madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: and without objection a motion to reconsider is laid on the table. mr. guthrie: madam speaker, may i request the yeas and nays on that resolution? mr. bishop: i request the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. and pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20 and the chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentleman from new york rise? mr. bishop: madam speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass s. 1422. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: senate 1422, an act to amend the family and medical leave act of 1993 to clarify the eligibility requirements with respect to airline flight crews. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman

kidge: thank you, madam speaker. -- mr. king: thank you, madam speaker. i thank the gentlelady from north carolina for yielding. before i take up the subject that i came here to talk about, i can't help but remark that the gentlelady from texas said that the people on our side had not had a good thought about how to invest in america. not a good thought. i'll submit, that would be a direct quote, i would submit that the good thoughts are right there on the immigration naturalization flash cards. what is the economic system of america? flip the cart over, if you want to be naturalized as a citizen you need to answer the question this way, free enterprise capitalism. free enterprise capitalism has been the enemy of this administration. tim geithner said that free enterprise capitalism is what brought us to the brink of ruin. can you imagine tearing asunder the very foundation, one of the principal pillars of americanism, somehow hadn't had a good thought about america. and i'd ask again, why do we need african-american hospitals? why can't we have hospitals

another book about madame had peered a year before the lawns, entitled madame chiang kai-shek, china's first later to was written by a journalist named laura tyson lee, who reported information and was a wonderful source for the material on madame available in libraries and archives around the world. bod i strongly disagree with lee's conclusion that madame chiang showed serious signs of manic depression and/or substance abuse. that left me with a problem of explaining her constant preoccupation with illness. well, for starters, it seems to have been a family trait, which affected both of her sisters. at first, i thought that since the chinese and usually say they are sick to avoid refusing an invitation, they regarded direct as bad manners that illness was just an excuse to get out of doing things she didn't want to do. that wasn't it. some of you may have heard the story of how madame chiang slept only on silk sheets, which had to be changed every time she got into bed. it's the most often repeated story about her, and one in which she really gets a bum rap. at least three of her sib

[laughter] his book entitled madam chang kai-shek and ms. imm bills was published in 2007 but fortunately for me come by a few years after our lunch, will loosely organized and exhibits of the correspondence just given to them in the archivist there made it available to be. and another book had appeared when year before entitled madame chang kai-shek tae nazi eternal first lady written by a journalist who reported from asia and was a wonderful source for the material on madam, available and libraries and archives around the world. but i strongly disagree with the conclusion that madame chang showed serious signs of manic depression and/or substance abuse. that left me with the problem of explaining her constant preoccupation with illness. for starters, it seems to be a family trait that affected both of her sisters precut first i thought since the chinese usually say they are sick to avoid refusing invitation they regarded a direct know as bad manners, all this was just an excuse to get out of things for things she did not want to do. that w

goodlatte: thank you, madam chairman. at this moment i'm pleased to yield a minute to the gentleman from texas, the ranking member of the judiciary committee. the chair: the gentleman from texas is recognized for one minute. mr. smith: i thank the gentleman from virginia, mr. goodlatte, the deputy ranking member of the judiciary committee, for yielding me time. madam chair woman, those who confront mortgage foreclosures are understandably in a difficult situation. but this bankruptcy amendment will only lead to a worse situation for everyone. the number one cause of foreclosures today is job loss. the number two cause is homes that are mortgaged for more than they are worth. sending these homeowners with these problems into chapter 13 ups bankruptcy will not solve at all. they don't have the income required that is required to file chapter 13 bankruptcy. and those should honor the mortgages for which they freely contracted. allowing bankruptcy courts to cram down mortgage principal will only lead to higher interest rates

baucus: madam president? the presiding officer: under the previous order, there will be ten minutes equally divided. mr. baucus: i yield myself 2 1/2 minutes from the time under the control of the managers. madam president, for the benefit of all senators, i want to take a moment to lay out today's program. the time between now and 11:45 is for debate on the amendment by the senator from maryland, senator mikulski, chairman of the subcommittee on retirement and aging of the health, education, labor and pensions committee. and at the same time we'll debate the side-by-side amendment on the senator from alaska, senator murkowski. at 11:45 the senate will conduct two back-to-back roll call votes on the two amendments. first on the amendment by the senator from maryland, and second on the amendment by the senator from alaska. thereafter, we will conduct approximately two hours of debate on the mccain motion to commit on medicare and the side-by-side amendment by the senator from colorado, senator bennet. at 2:45

durbin: madam president -- madam president madam president i'd like to suggest the absence of a quorum and at that time under the quorum be allotted equally to both sides. the presiding officer: without objection, the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: mr. chambliss: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from georgia. mr. chambliss: what is the current status of the senate? the presiding officer: the senate is in a quorum call. mr. chambliss: i would ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. chambliss: and, is it correct, madam president, that the minority side has the hour from 1:30 until 2:30? the presiding officer: that is correct under the previous order the time until 11:30 p.m. shall be controlled in alternating one-hour blocks with the republicans controlling the first hour. mr. chambliss: i would ask unanimous consent that senators cornyn, graham, isakson, and myself be allowed to have a colloquy for this first hour from 1:30 until 2:30. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. chambliss: madam p

conyers: madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan rise? mr. conyers: by the direction of the committee on judiciary, i send to the desk a privileged report for filing under the rules to accompany house resolution 920. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title. the clerk: report to accompany house resolution 920, resolution directing the attorney general to transmit to the house of representatives all information in the attorney general's possession regarding certain manners pertaining to detainees held at naval station guantanamo bay, cuba, who are transferred into the united states. the speaker pro tempore: referred to the house calendar and ordered printed. the house will be in order. the chair will entertain requests for one-minute speeches. for what purpose does the gentleman from -- the gentleman rise? mr. dicks: to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks, and i'd ask the speaker if she could bring the house to

>> madame president? >> senator from maryland. >> i yield three and a half minutes to the junior senator from minnesota. senator al franken. >> senator from minnesota. >> thank you, madame president. i rise today to express support for senator buckles the's amendment for women's health. this is crucial because it's about prevention. prevention is one of the key ways this bill will transform our system of sick care and to true health care. it's common sense you get the right screenings of the right time so you find diseases earlier. this saves lives and it saves money. the senate bill already has several provisions for preventive care which are strongly support for example callosities and screening for heart disease will be covered this is a good start but the current bill relies solely on the u.s. preventive services task force to determine which services will be covered at no cost. the problem is it is several crucial women's health services are omitted. senator mikulski's demint close is this gap and du

madam president, i yield the floor. a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cornyn: madam president, we are now considering a bill that represents the dramatic expansion in government spending. as the senator from arizona has so eloquently stated, this omnibus appropriation bill represents a 12% increase over last year, a fiscal year that ended with the largest deficit in american history of of $1.4 trillion. i don't know of any other area in the economy where people are spending 12% over what they spent last year. no family in america, no business in america is spending 12% more this year than they did last year. while we see 10% of our people unemployed. millions of families across the country and small businesses are, in fact, tightening their budgets. but the budgets of these federal agencies, and of the federal government itself, keeps expanding. 33% increase of spending for foreign operations. a 23% increase in transportation, housing, and urban development. one of the worst things that this spending is

mcgovern: madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from massachusetts rise? mr. mcgovern: i ask unanimous consent to claim the time. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. mcgovern: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. mcgovern: thank you, madam speaker. first, i want to commend president obama for thinking long and hard about the course he believes the united states should take in afghanistan. that kind of deliberation is a welcome change from the previous administration. i also want to commend him for making it crystal clear that the united states of america condemns torture. unfortunately, on the issue of troop levels in afghanistan i believe the president has reached the wrong conclusion. sending 30,000 more u.s. troops to afghanistan will make it 30,000 times harder to extraindicate ourselves from this mess. if our fight is truly with al qaeda, then we're in t

enzi: thank you, madam president. the majority has voted to cut off further amendments to this bill. senator reid has used a procedural tool that prevents republicans from offering amendments. several of my democrat colleagues have come to the floor to argue the republicans don't have any ideas on how to improve this bill. nothing could be further from the truth. republicans have filed over 200 separate amendments to this bill, yet the majority is refusing to allow us to vote on any of them. on a bill that will affect the health care of every american and 1/6 of our nation's economy, the majority has not allowed us to have more than ten votes to try to improve this bill. this bill needs to be fixed. we know this bill currently will cut medicare, raise taxes, and increase insurance premiums. if we had the chance to offer amendments, i believe we could make changes to fix those problems. i have filed nine amendments this bill, but i have not been allowed to offer any of them. i believe that any reform should reflect the

foxx: thank you, madam speaker. as we approach the christmastime, too many americans are asking where are the jobs? in january the unemployment rate was 7.6%. only 10 months later the national unemployment reached a whopping 10.2%, the highest level since april, 1983. that means today there are 15.7 million unemployed americans looking for work. house republicans have an economic recovery plan that will help get americans back to work. our economic recovery plan will create twice the jobs at half the cost of the democrats' failed stimulus plan. how ironic that our colleagues are coming to the floor today to talk about the need for jobs when it is their votes and the policies of this president that have killed so many jobs. it's time we start working on behalf of the american people, focus on real commonsense solutions that will help put people back to work and let them celebrate christmas in a wonderful way. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. who seeks -- for what purpose does

i yield back my time, madam president. a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from washington. ms. cantwell: thank you, madam president. i've been on the floor now for about an hour listening to my colleagues on the health care debate and certainly want to express the opinion from many people in the northwest. we know that doing nothing about health care certainly will guarantee that premiums will go up. we know what's happened in the last ten years, they've gone up 100%. we know that doing nothing now means they'll go up 8% to 10% a year. we also know there's about $700 billion in waste in the system. this is about what we can do to reform the system so that we can stop the rise in increase that we're seeing in our premiums. and there's many good things in this legislation change fee-for-service system so that we're driving down the quantity of health care that is delivered instead of making sure that it's quality, making sure we make reforms in long-term care, making sure that we give the power to states to negotiate and dri

khaeup khaeup thank you, madam president. madam president -- mr. crapo: thank you, madam president. madam president, as we approach the vote tomorrow morning, i know a lot of people are calling it an historic vote, and in some context i guess it is. however, many of us are concerned that it is an historic mistake rather than a history-making opportunity. we've had a lot of debate about whether this legislation is the right or the wrong way to improve health care for all americans. we've had hours and hours, in fact days and weeks of committee hearings and meetings with good bipartisan discussion on options and ways to accomplish this. but now apparently we have a mandate by the majority that are demanding that we have the final vote in the senate before christmas. while we debate this, let me say i believe we need to hear more from the people who are going to be most affected: the american people. because the final details of this bill were not crafted in front of the american public. i think most people in america today know that the president pledged that this legislation would be

. >> thank you, madam speaker. i want to urge my colleagues to support jerez lution, 779, and i yield back the balance of our time. the speaker pro tempore: the sgrelt yields back. the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to -- and support her resolution, 779. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and agree to the resolution. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. without objection, the resolution is agreed. to >> i would like to request the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having risen, the yeas and nays are ord. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20 and the chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentleman from massachusetts rise? >> i move that the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 942. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk:

madam president, i yield the floor. >> madam president?the senator from california. >> madam president, it's an honor to be here in the senate at a time when we're working on one of the major issues of our time. we know that generations of leaders in both parties have tried to solve the health care crisis, and they've done it bit by bit. we read history, we know that leaders struggle with social security, democrats were in the forefront, the republicans fought us every step of the way, and franklin roosevelt took the lead on that. and we had john kennedy and lyndon johnson take the lead on medicare, and the republicans fought us every inch of the way on that. we have some cooperation from certain senators and certain members of congress, but overall it was very difficult. and this fight is very difficult. to make sure that we turn things around. if we live in a society where if we don't step in to the breach here, we are told by nonpartisan surveys -- if senator grassley wouldn't mind, it's hard for me to concentrate. thank you. we are tol

madam president, i yield the floor. a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: for the benefit of my colleagues waiting to speak, i don't think i'll speak more than 10 minutes. before i speak on my purpose for coming to the floor to support senator mccain's amendment, i want to take just a couple of minutes to go over a source of information that's no longer credible, that's been used in debate on this floor several times, used throughout the year. information that's even been in letters to the editors of iowa newspapers. and the most recent hearing of this was when the senator from california rose to talk about the quality of our health care. and the reference to the fact that the united states is 37th out of -- of all of the nations in the world in quality of health care. and i don't deny that we have to do a lot to improve the quality of health care in america. and i even admit that in this legislation, even though i oppose the bulk of this 2,074-page bill, that there's even a lot in this bill that h

madam president, i yield the floor. a senator: madam president?the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cornyn: madam president, we are now considering a bill that represents the dramatic expansion in government spending. as the senator from arizona has so eloquently stated, this omnibus appropriation bill represents a 12% increase over last year, a fiscal year that ended with the largest deficit in american history of of $1.4 trillion. i don't know of any other area in the economy where people are spending 12% over what they spent last year. no family in america, no business in america is spending 12% more this year than they did last year. while we see 10% of our people unemployed. millions of families across the country and small businesses are, in fact, tightening their budgets. but the budgets of these federal agencies, and of the federal government itself, keeps expanding. 33% increase of spending for foreign operations. a 23% increase in transportation, housing, and urban development. one of the worst things that this spending is

hensarling: madam chair.hat i -- the chair: for what purpose does the gentleman seek recognition? mr. hensarling: i ask for the yeas and nays. the chair: does the gentleman ask for a recorded vote? mr. hensarling: i request a recorded vote. the chair: pursuant to clause 6 of rule 18, further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from michigan will be postponed. it is now in order to consider amendment number 17 printed in house report 111-370. for what purpose does the gentleman from north carolina rise? mr. watt: to claim the time in support of the amendment. the chair: does the gentleman offer the amendment? mr. watt: i offer the amendment. the chair: the clerk will designate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 17 printed in house report 111-370 offered by mr. watt of north carolina. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 964, the gentleman from north carolina, mr. watt, and a member opposed, each will control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from north carolina. mr.

madam rossides.based on what happened here, do you believe that our aviation security is being compromised so that we can because -- or weakened because of this incident? >> no, sir, not. >> thank you, madam chairman. >> thank you. we recognize mr. cleaver for five minutes. >> ms. rossides, thank you. to follow, the answer to that question would have been what you just said no matter what. right? >> yes, sir, i believe that our system is very strong. >> no, but i mean even if it weren't that would have been the answer. >> i don't understand. >> you wouldn't have said here, you know, to the cameras that are -- that our system has been compromised. >> glabble the system is very strong and was not compromised as a result of this, sir. >> ok. i understand why you won't answer the question which is why i asked the question but that was somewhat of an answer. has there been a see i'm not sure you can answer my question. >> perhaps we can get piano into the closed session i can answer and give you more exam

thank you, madam president, and i yield the floor. a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from new jersey. mr. lautenberg: thank you, madam president. i ask unanimous consent -- how much time is left available? the presiding officer: 4 1/2 minutes. mr. lautenberg: i ask consent to be able to speak for up to ten minutes. it will be less, i promise, but i think we had a little misqueue in our timing. is there any objection to that? mr. franken: is there any objection? mr. enzi: reserving the right to object, would it be possible for the senator from arizona to do a five-minute speak and then have you do five minutes plus the four? mr. lautenberg: all right. we have been patient, i think, if we can be assured that the senator's speech will not take more than five minutes, i would consent. that then includes a unanimous consent for me to have up to ten minutes. i see our colleague from michigan here, and i don't know whether that would disturb her. ms. stabenow: if i might just -- mr. enzi: mr. president, i'd be willing to let her then go as

miller: thank you, madam speaker. or madam chair. and mr. frank. we will -- i will include in my revise and extend -- in my revised and extended remarks, the colloquy, i ask mr. frank to explain one committee amendment offered by mr. moore and me and explain the revisions tonight on the floor. the committee amendment and the revised amendment was originally a suggestion of the fdic to get at one of the most infuriated episodes in the entire financial crisis and the best example was the collapse and the rescue of a.i.g., which was not about a.i.g. but the counterparties to a.i.g. and we have now heard the counterparties, morgan stanley, deutsche bank, refused to take anything less than 100% on the dollar of what a.i.g. owed them. according to the special director general from the tarp program, they did that because they had gained collateral of their debt in the last days of a.i.g.'s collapse so they knew they could get paid in full, even if a.i.g. went into bankruptcy. the fdic says it believes it is better to take over company, to take into resolu

inglis: thank you, madam speaker. i address permission to address the house for five minutes. revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. inglis: thank you, madam speaker. a number of physicians would tell you that longevity is based only on genetic makeup. but you might ask them, doctor, if i were to diet and exercise safely, might i extend my life? well, most physicians would say, if you can do it safely, go ahead. that's really what i think we should be talking about when it comes to climate change. if we can do it safely as to the economy, we should act. if we can't do it safely, then we should hold up. in the case of cap and trade, which has passed this floor, unfortunately, it's pending in the other body, it can't be done that way. in other words, it will harm the economy. we are talking about a tax increase in the midst of a recession. we are talking a wall street trading scheme that would make traders blush. and it punishes american manufactu

tiahrt: thank you, madam speaker. i thank the gentleman from california. 10 months ago we stood here and told you the stimulus bill would not help the economy recover. we told you it would not work because the $787 billion--- plus interest would only grow the size of government. you can't grow the economy from the government down you have to grow from the ground up. now we have a news account of how the money was spent, mostly on government workers writing more government regulations. then there was the news about the pay raises for head start teachers and the buyouts for university professors and unemployment is double digits. it's 10%. so today on floort we have the son of a stimulus bill. it's another $154 billion of failed economic policies that will only prolong the economic pain. this bill includes another $750 million for green jobs on top of the previous bill's $750 million. so far no green jobs have been created. the son of stimulus adds another $23 billion to state and local governments on top of the $53 bil

lewis: thank you, madam speaker.m speaker, chairman obey calls this legislation the jobs for main street act. i call it economic insanity. truly this is one of those rare occasions when i hardly, hardly know where to begin. it's because of legislation like this and the manner in which it was produced that the public has lost faith in this congress -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is correct. the gentleman will suspend. the house is not in order. members will take their conversations off the floor. members will take their seats. mr. lewis: madam speaker, i certainly want to -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. lewis: madam speaker, i certainly want everyone paying attention to every word and i appreciate my colleague caring for that. it's because of legislation like this and the manner in which it was produced that the public has lost faith in this congress and why confidence in washington is at an all-time low. this legislation repeats the failures of the so-called recovery act by pou

madam president, i yield the floor. mr. rockefeller: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from west virginia. mr. rockefeller: i thank you. i rise today to join with my colleagues, in fact, to stand very proudly with my colleagues in support of the senate passage of groundbreaking, comprehensive health care reform, something that i've wanted to say for decades. it has taken not just the better part of a year. really, this is something which has gone back a full generation. the story of health care reform over the last 50 years has been one of narrow, incremental change. some quite meaningful. the children's health insurance program, for example. but none truly comprehensive in the way that americans want to have their health care. and it's a history of big ideas left unrealized, for lack of political will, for lack of ti time, whatever. of leaders and lawmakers and the medical profession at large all trying boldly yet all failing badly. failing fundamentally to take away the fear of so many, the sheer terror of living and getting sick in

durbin: thank you madam president. madam president, i would just say when senator mcconnell came to the floor after the ruling of the chair and the decision of the chair, he said that the plain language of the senate precedent the manual that governs senate procedure is that unanimous consent of all members was required before the senator from vermont could with withdraw his ality while it was being -- amendment while it was being read. he said it required unanimous consent, but that is not what the language of the senate rules that i've read say. they say that a senator has as a matter of right under rule 15, paragraph 2, the right to withdraw his amendment before action is taken. in this case that i mentioned earlier, argument in 1992, back up the parliamentarian's decision and that interpretation of the rule. so i would say that it didn't work today to stop or slow down the senate. currently we are not technically debating health care reform. before us now is the department of defense appropriation bill. the confere

baucus: madam president? can we have order, madam president. the presiding officer: yes, may we have order, please. under the previous order, there will be two minutes of debate equally divided prior to a vote on amendment number 2942, offered by the senator from new hampshire, mr. gregg. mr. baucus baucus: madam presid? the presiding officer: the senator from montana. mr. baucus: madam president, the senate's not in order. the presiding officer: the senator from montana. mr. baucus: madam president, the gregg amendment is a killer amendment. the gregg amendment would kill tax cuts in the bill, it would kill assistance for co-pays, it would kill the medicaid expansion for the lowest-income americans, it would kill the bill's additional funding for the children's health insurance program. the proponents of the gregg amendment advertise it as protecting medicare. that's false advertising. the gregg amendment would kill health care reform. health care reform would extend the life of medicare trust fund by four to five years. health care reform hel

sutton: thank you, madam speaker. i rise today along with my colleagues in support of the matsui amendment. before wall street collapsed, before anyone ever heard of credit default swaps and before a.i.g. became a four-letter word, homeowners across this country and especially in ohio were already hurting. responsible americans were sold mortgages with terrible terms and gotcha fees or some lost their jobs and were unable to make payments and some homeowners are still suffering. last month, one in every 417 homes in this country received a foreclosure filing. the making home affordable program has helped some homeowners but not enough and it's time we saw some numbers. this amendment requires treasury to post on their website important data on mortgage servicer and lender participation in the program. so we can hold mortgage servicers and lenders accountable and ask them why you are not helping homeowners out of this mess that you created. this is an important step in helping americans stay in their homes. i urge a ye

with that, madam president, i yield the floor. mr. dorgan: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from north dakota. mr. dorgan: madam president, the amendment i have offered with many, many colleagues, the bipartisan amendment, deals with the issue of prescription drugs. and specifically the reimportation of f.d.a.-approved drugs that the american people would be able to access for a fraction of the price that they are charged in this country. the american people are paying the highest prices in the world for brand name prescription drugs. it's not even close. in fact, let me just show the first chart. i've got many, but i'll just show the first chart to describe what brings me to the floor of the senate. here are prices for lipitor. i mean, there are so many people that take lipitor, they probably ought to put it in the water supply someplace. the most popular cholesterol-lowering drugs in america, perhaps in the world. here's what the american people pay for an equivalent quantity of lipitor -- $125. the same quantity costs you $40 in britain,

this is happening, madam president. madam president, how much time do we have on our side? the presiding officer: 17 minutes. ms. murkowski: okay, thank you. if i may ask my colleague from kansas, do i understand that you're seeking about ten minutes? is that correct? okay. so that i know what we're doing here in terms of time. thank you. i want to speak just a little bit about small businesses because we've all been talking about the impact to small businesses. under this bill as we know, small businesses are going to be penalized $750 per employee if even one of their employees seeks governmental health care whether through medicaid or the federal subsidies. if you've got 50 or more employees, you can be expected to pay fines in an a. $750 -- amount of $750 per employee employee or $3,000 for that individual employee. madam president, i think we need to put it in perspective in terms of who these businesses are. these are the solo practitioners like the one-lawyer office or small doctors office. if these individuals in alaska purchase health care in the individual market

madam president, i yield the floor. mr. casey: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from pennsylvania. mr. casey: madam president, thank you very much. i rise this morning -- this afternoon now i guess it is to speak about health care, but in a very particular context, one that -- an area of our health care debate which we unfortunately haven't spent enough time on. and the purpose of -- of my remarks today will focus on an amendment that i will be filing today very soon that is entitled "support for pregnant and parenting teens and women." it's a challenge within our health care system which i think has gone largely unaddressed or at least for a segment or a category of pregnant women in our society. we know that many teens and women who face an unplanned pregnancy do so with little or no support. this amendment, the pregnant and parenting teens and women amendment, offers teens and young women the support they need to finish their educations and provide for their children. it's especially important to those who are teenagers, thos

sessions: thank you, madam speaker. i'd like to yield two minutes to the the gentlewoman from the great state of illinois, mrs. biggert. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. mrs. biggert: i rise in strong opposition to this restrictive rule. i filed several amendments to protect taxpayers and the economy from regulatory mismanagement. unfortunately, they were summarily rejected by the rules committee. on a bill of this magnitude and significance, i would hope the majority wouldn't be so eager to shut the door on bipartisan amendments or for that matter, any good ideas from any party that would improve the bill. thanks to the rule, madam speaker, amendments i offered to prevent a shift of u.s. business overseas are barred from consideration. my amendments would have preserved language in the underlying bill, as a result of amendments i offered in the financial services committee that unfortunately will be undone by the peterson-frank amendment. the result, according to system provided by one of my cons

madam president, let me just a few a few outrageous examples. everyone knows that this country is in the midst of a major crisis and primary health care. we lack.earth, we lack nurses, we like dentists. a major, major crisis getting worse every single day. yet, while we are unable to produce those desperately needed.yours and nurses and dentists, we are producing legions, legion of insurance company bureaucrats. and here is a chart which deals with that issue. what this chart shows is that over the last three decades, the number of administrative personnel, bureaucrats who do nothing to cure our illnesses or keep us well. a number of bureaucrats has grown by 25 times the number of physicians. this is insurance growth, not existence. this is health care bureaucrats on the phone today telling you why you can't get the health care coverage he paid for or telling you that you have a preexisting condition or throwing you off a health care because you committed a crime last year getting sick. this is where our health care dollars are going and that is

we have a unique vitality, madam speaker. it's rooted in a lot of things and built upon the foundation of the pillars of american exceptionalism, among them, capitalism, freedom of speech, religion, and right to bear arms and right to be judged by a jury of your peers and the rule of law. and the raleigh of law says if you are judged -- and i said that to this new group of new americans and i said this, if you come before a court of law before the united states of america, if you are the richest man in the world, you'll get the same level of justice that you'll get if you are the poorest man in america. ful bill gates comes before the federal court, he will be judged in the same standard as the poorest person in that room that day or the poorest room they can find off the street, the same measure of justice. it's what we pledged. it's one of those foundations of being an american, the same level of justice. justice is blind. equal justice before the law. that rule of law, that profound respect for the rule of law would be cas

durbin: madam president? the presiding officer: under the previous order, the time until 1:30 p.m. shall be equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees. the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: madam president, i thank the majority leader for designating haft of the time between now and 1:-- half of the time between now and 1:30 that i should control. and i would first like to thank all the people that are here, the staff and pages. this has been a tough session for many but tougher for many of them than some members of the senate because they have had to wait until the very last senator of either political party has finished for the day many times before they go home, and i was reflecting on that yesterday afternoon in the midst of one of the toughest historic snowstorms here in washington, d.c., that hundreds of staff people were waiting at their post, doing their jobs on a saturday in the middle of a snowstorm when virtually every business around washington was closing down.

kerry: madam president, i yield myself such time as i will use. madam president, i just listened to my friend, senator grassley, and he and i have a good relationship and we work together here -- we both serve on the finance committee and i have enjoyed a lot of the things with that we do together. so what i am going to say is something substantive, not personal. there just is a lack of reality here in a lot of the comments that we're hearing from our friends on the other side of the aisle. and a persistence in perpetuating a myth. you know, a lot of us have seen the politics of this country where if you say something over and over and over and over again, no matter how true it is, it request have an impact. i know that personally. but let me tell you, i just heard the senator from iowa say -- quote -- "-- i am going to quote him -- i wrote it down -- "certainly, if $450 billion is being taken out" -- out of medicare -- "it is hurting medicare. " that's what he just said. let me review what is sort of really happening here. i want to go back to th

ambassador, i should say. >> madam chairman and mr. vice chairman, it is a great honor to appear before you today as president obama's nominee to be assistant secretary of state for the bureau of intelligence and research. i am grateful to the president and secretary of state clinton for their confidence in nominating me for this position as well as to the director of national intelligence dennis blair for his support in my nomination. if confirmed by the senate i pledge to work closely with this committee as it plays a vital role in the oversight in the intelligence community. madam chairman, inr has been a treasured source of information and analysis for policymakers for more than 60 years. inr is also a deeply respected voice within the intelligence community. inr's success has not been based on size or budget. rather, it has been based on the extraordinary experience, judgment, and analytical skill of its personnel. inr is earned reputation for insight and professionalism is based on a mix of civil and foreign service personnel. a

our bill does all three things, madam president. let me be specific age because page 80 of this bill i were bill includes a bipartisan proposal allows employers to offer large incentives for workplace illness programs. on page two and injured 19 of our bill, madam president, it includes a republican proposal allowing it plans to be sold across state lines. and on page one of the congressional budget office analysis of this bill, the congressional budget office concludes that our bill would cut the deficit of our nation by $130 billion over the next ten years. the single largest budget deficit reduction since 1997. in a lot body of 100 as we are in which both parties claim to agree on these principles we should be able to achieve one would think a bipartisan consensus on a matter of this import. but sadly it would seem our work colleagues, to many of them again on the other side of this divided don't seem to care what is in this bill specifically. i'm reminded again as others have what is actually included in this bill. not that i wo

hutchison: madam president? mr. reid: madam president? the presiding officer: the majority leader.mr. reid: are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: yes, we are. mr. reid: ask consent that be vitiated. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. so ordered. mr. reid: madam president, it's my understanding that the senator from texas wishes to speak for up to five minutes. i ask she be recognized. following that, that senator durbin be recognized. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. hutchison: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mrs. hutchison: madam president, i thank the majority leader for allowing me to speak because i am very concerned about a precedent that has been set on the floor in this last vote. when the senator from vermont withdrew his amendment and started talking, my amendment was the amendment on the floor, my motion to recommit. and i did not have notice, which is the normal procedure here, to be able to talk on my amendment and we had no idea that there would be a motion to table my amendment before i

mcconnell: madam president? mr. reid: i ask the amendment be considered read. mr. mcconnell: i object. mr. reid: madam president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: it is my understanding the bill needs to be reported at this time. the presiding officer: report the amendment. the clerk: the senator from nevada, mr. reid, proposes amendment numbered 3276 to amendment number 2786. mr. reid: madam president? the presiding officer: majority leader. mr. reid: madam president, before offering the amendment, the so-called manager's amendment, i've spoken with my republican counterpart. i would ask consent that the democratic senator on my side be allowed to speak for up to nine minutes prior to my offering the amendment. mr. mcconnell: madam president, i object. the presiding officer: objection is heard. mr. reid: thank you, madam president. i have not given up the floor, madam president. mr. mcconnell: madam president, parliamentary inquiry. the presiding officer: the minority leader is recognized f

madam president, it's time to rise to the occasion. because our friends on the other side of the aisle have chosen to sit on their hands and do nothing. they have no plan. they have chosen to delay and obfuscate. you know, if you look back in history, during the great debates on social security in 1935 and medicare in 1965, our friends across the aisle were on the wrong side of history. but in the end, there was a minority who chose to stand up for historic social legislation and vote their conscience. they were not driven by the far right wing of their party or by radio talk-show hosts who demand ideological purity and seek any attempt to support -- see any attempt to support health care reform as an abandonment of principle. each of us is rarely called to act on such significant legislation, and when we are, it is our solemn duty to put aside our ideology, to turn off rush limbaugh and leave politics in the cloakroom. our vote on this groundbreaking legislation, comparable to social security and medicare, will be one of the most sign

chambliss chambliss: and in, let me just say, madam preside madam president, that the senator from south carolina said it very strongly but he's right. we've reached a new day in this body. we've had deals cut behind closed doors that are going to provide benefits for individual senators in their states, whether it's vermont, new hampshire, nebraska, florida, or wherever that's going to require those of us who didn't have opportunity to participate in discussions and negotiations on this bill to represent our citizens who are going to have to pay more for services that everybody all across america gets. there's nothing right about that. there's nothing fair about that. and i dare say, i -- i have some relatives who live in nebraska. they've got to be embarrassed and ashamed about this because they're going to be getting a huge benefit simply because the democrats needed 60 votes to pass the health care bill. and with that, madam speaker, i see -- mr. graham: one last thought, if i may. mr. chambliss: sure, just close us out. mr. graham: i know that there are good, hard-working people all

-time madam secretary.he secretary: i have been directed by the senate to inform the house that the senate has agreed to the conference report accompanying h.r. 3288, an act making appropriations for the department of transportation and housing and urban development and related agencies for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2010, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the chair lays before the house the following enrolled bill. the clerk: h.r. 4217, an act to amend the internal revenue code of 1986, to extend the funding and expenditure authority for the airport and airway trust fund, to amend title 49, united states code, to extend authorizations for the or improvement program, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the order of the house of january 6, 2009, the chair will now recognize members from lists submitted by the majority and minority leaders for morning hour debate. the chair will alternate recognition between the parties with each party limited to 30 minutes an

madam president, i yield the floor. a senator: madam president?he presiding officer: the senator from south dakota. mr. thune: madam president, i wanted to speak to a couple issues this evening. the first one has to deal with what we understand to be the evolving so-called deal that is being worked out by the other side on the public option/government plan and the attempt to try to reach 60 votes on the other side and what appears to be a process that continues to just sort of unravel and break down because every single day there is a new story about some new gimmick to attract the requisite number of senators to get to that threshold of 60. the most recent one -- like i said, i can't verify any of this because we haven't been privy to or included in any of the discussions that have occurred behind closed doors. in fact, one of those meetings just occurred earlier this evening. but we read from press reports that one of the proposals now being contemplated by the majority to try to get that requisite number of votes is an expansion of the medicare

thank you, madam president. mrs. murray: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from washington. mrs. murray: thank you, madam president. madam president, i want to add my thanks to the senator from maryland for bringing forward this important issue as we address health care reform in this country to ensure that all of our families have access to health care. one of the most important things we can do is to make sure that the care givers in their families, the women, get access to preventive care so that they can take care of their families. this amendment will require all of the health plans to cover comprehensive women's preventive care and screenings and at no cost to women. that's extremely important. we all understand that. but especially in these tough economic times when families across the country are struggling, one of the results has been that a lot of women are skipping or delaying their health care. we all know this personally. as moms, you take care of your kids first. when you do that you often leave your families