>> well, first of all, i'd like to say thank you to maria cantwell.ause she's really standing out, you know, front and forward on amanda's behalf. and we appreciate any support that will allow us to bring our daughter home because she is in a prison now that she does not belong in. and she's been there too long for something that she hasn't done. you know, i think as people -- and literally this happens over here in italy, as well. as people look closer and closer at this case, and in this individual court, they're seeing that wait a minute, this is the wrong verdict for the evidence that was presented in the court of law. and i think it needs to be looked at more and more. and i truly appreciate the efforts she's putting forth in trying to bring that to a conclusion. >> no comment on what the state department said? >> you know, i don't -- i don't know specifically. i -- we're kind of running a little bit in the dash since we're so far away. >> larry: yeah. >> i think if they look into it further, they're going to find that they're going to want to pu

competition here now because we will have that special plan won by opm, the state option that maria cantwell put in there. this is why we see the reduction including taking the fraud and the ways out of medicare. we don't need fraud and waste. so here's how i want to close. health care coverage for all americans has been such an elusive goal for nearly a century. if you look at republican president and democratic presidents and republican congress is in congresses, we've tried it over and over. and the status quo has always prevailed. our beloved friend, senator ted kennedy, whom we missed so much particularly during a time like this spot for health care right here on the floor from the moment he became a senator in 1962 to the moment he died. in an odd bad in the "washington post" this past friday, ted kennedy's wife vicki wrote, ted often said we can't let the perfect the enemy of the good. and i want to say to vicki, she's exactly right. each of us could write this bill our way. believe me, if i wrote a bill to me it would be perfect. but to my friend in the chair, she'd say well, you kno

a basic plan can be created by the states which i think is very important and i want to thank maria cantwell for working so hard on that. so, if people tell you we don't have anything to do with public options, they're really not right. you have to look carefully at this bill. now i want to talk about the deficit. we reduce the deficit between 2010 and 2019 by $132 billion, and between 2020 and 2029, there's up to a $1.3 trillion deficit reduction according to the congressional budget office. that is a nonpartisan office. this bill reduces the deficit. i'm going to say it one more time. this bill reduces the deficit, and the reason is we invest in prevention, and that pays off. we finally will be able to say to the insurance companies, stop your gouging, and that pays off. and we do have competition here now because we will have that special plan run by o.p.m., the state option that maria cantwell put in there. this is why we see the reduction including taking the fraud and the waste out of medicare. we don't need fraud and waste. so here's how i want to close. health care coverage for all a

christopher dodd, ron by deny, frank lautenberg, patty murray, arlen specter, mary landrieu, and maria cantwell. now, mr. president, here's a letter dated 30 september, 2003. and it says, "dear medicare conferee:" it says united states senate, and it's signed by a number of senators, including my colleague, senator kerry. "we're asking" addition -- "we're writing to ask you as a member of the medicare conference committee to ensure that the final medicare bill includes a meaningful increase in medicare choice funding in fiscal years 2004-2005." so i guess that my friend and colleague, senator kerry, was against cuts in funding before he was for it. he was against them before he was for them. so anyway, it goes on to say, "you strongly support additional medicare choice funding for two very important reasons. one, to protect the health care choices and benefits of the nearly 5 million medicare beneficiaries who are currently enrolled in private-sector health plans. and, two, to strengthen the foundation for future health plan choices. we believe that the medicare choice funding provisions are cr

competition here now, because we will have that special plan run by opm, the state option that maria cantwell put in there. this is why we see the reduction including taking the fraud in the ways out of medicare. we don't need fraud and waste. so, here is how i want to close. health care coverage for all americans has been such an elusive goal. for nearly a century if you look there republican presidents and democratic presidents and republican congresses and democratic congresses, we have tried it over and over again and the status quo is always prevail. our beloved friend senator ted kennedy, whom we miss so much particularly during a time like this, fought for health care right here on the floor from the moment he became a senator in 1962 to the moment he died. in an op-ed in "the washington post" this past friday ted kennedy's wife vicki wrote, ted often said we can't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. and i want to say to vicki, she is exactly right. each of us could write this bill our way. believe me if i wrote the bill, to me it would be perfect but to my friend in the

thanks to the efforts of maria cantwell and my colleague amy klobuchar and others, for the first time ever we will include what's called the value index in the medicare payment structure. doctors and states that provide high-quality care at a reasonable cost will no longer be punished for that. instead they will be rewarded for being effective partners in their patient's care. the bill also calls for all health insurance companies to use a single, uniform standard for claims. just like we do now in minnesota and which will save our state $60 million just this year. there are lots of ideas, and we just don't know which ones yet will work the best. but the point is that all the key elements are here in this bill. one program in the bill that i'm particularly proud of is the diabetes prevention program at c.d.c. i worked on these provisions with my republican colleague, dick lugar, from indiana, who is a hero of mine. the diabetes prevention program is based on what we learned in minnesota and in indiana. prediabetics can avoid becoming diabetic if they get access to community services l

charles schumer, frank lautenberg, hillary rodham clinton, ron wyden, mark dayton, mary landrieu, maria cantwell, and christopher dodd. 14 democrats signed this letter along with a number of bipartisan republicans who believed that we really needed to do medicare advantage. and now to take advantage, our colleagues on the other side want to do away with medicare advantage except in four states that are for the most part democrat states, while leaving all the other 46 states high and dry. now let me just say this letter is in response -- was a letter given to the medicare modernization conference committee. this conference committee gave them everything they wanted in medicare advantage. this legislative grant of power gave the senators the medicare advantage program which now 11 million senior citizens enjoy today. now those on the left want to do away with this important program that benefits seniors and minorities in an amazing set of ways. well, i'm against that. i hope our colleagues on the other side will realize what they're doing. it just isn't right. vision care and dental care and so ma