as i mentioned already, i've known marilyn tavenner for 25 years. she's the real deal, and she will be a phenomenal kho*eus to continue to -- a phenomenal choice to continue to lead c.m.s.. marilyn grew up in south side virginia and worked her way through school. she began her career in health care not as a hospital administrator or an executive, but she began on the front lines as an emergency room nurse. but then through her ability to relate to people and care, she rose to become c.e.o. of a hospital and then a senior executive of a leading health care company. i know as governor, i called upon marilyn on a repeated basis on health care issues that affected virginia. marilyn has always been committed to people and public service, and she took that private-sector knowledge and experience into the public sector even before her tenure with this administration, when she joined a good friend, the senior senator from virginia, tim kaine, when he became governor and served with his administration as the virginia secretary of health. today marilyn has alr

we also expect votes today on confirmation of marilyn tavenn tavenner, and we may get to see if we can finish the o orrick nomination. i'm told that s. 953 is due for a second reading. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. 53, a bill to amend the higher education act of 1965 and so forth and for other purposes. mr. reid: i would object to any further proceedings on this bill at this time. the presiding officer: objection is heard. the bill will be placed on the calendar. mr. reid: mr. president, albert einstein, the great albert ann stein, defined insanity as follows: doing the same thing over understand a oveandover again ag different results. that's what albert einstein said. if his deaf mission is true -- and i'm not going to argue with einstein -- the house republicans have truly lost their minds. this week the har house of representatives will vote for the 37th time -- mr. president, 37th time. what are they voting on 37 times? exactly the same thing -- they are vietnaming to repeal the landmark -- voting to repeal the landmark constitutional health care refo

marilyn tavenner's nomination to serve as administrator for medicare and medicaid services. ms.avenner in her role as acting administrator signed a directive in march that channeled critical funds away from prevention. so -- and i must say as the chairman of the committee and as the author of the prevention fund and the affordable care act, i was never notified of this. i was not consulted on this. no one was. it was just sort of signed away. i just -- again, i want to make it very clear, the hold i put on ms. tavenner was not a secret hold. in fact, i don't believe in secret holds. too often i think people put secret holds and you don't know who is doing it. i would never do that. i issued my hold publicly. why? in order to heighten public awareness of this administration's ill-advised policy decision to cut prevention money and hopefully to get the white house to start to reconsider this. i wanted to give people in the white house the chance to understand that their assault on the prevention fund is shortsighted and destructive and perhaps suggest other sources of funding for