merkley: scaikd my intern be accorded privileges of the floor. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. merkley: i ask unanimous consent the call of the quorum be dispensed. to speak as if in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. merkley: i rise to address a defining challenge of our time: the restructuring of our nation's energy supply. reforming our energy policy is critical for multiple reasons: to improve our national security, to create jobs and rebuild our economy, to protect our children and our communities from the damaging effects of carbon pollution. today i want to focus on just the first of these: improving our national security. mr. president, it has been said before and it will be said again but it deserves repeating until we in congress act to change it: our nation is addicted to foreign oil. this dependence makes us vulnerable to the whims of nations that do not have our best interests at heart. this afternoon i'd like to examine this problem in some detail and consider the im

merkley: thank you for that offer. i think that -- would that -- would a period of about five or six more minutes be acceptable? okay. then i would accept your kind offer. mr. dorgan: mr. president, i have no objection. we are limiting -- the presiding officer: the senator from north dakota. mr. dorgan: we are limiting morning business statements to 10 minutes. we are on the business of the energy and water appropriations bill waiting for amendments to be filed. so we have a general order on this bill that morning business will be 10 minutes. so i have no objection if the senator wishes to take a few minutes extra, but i did want both senators to understand that beer on the energy and water appropriations bills, and morning business is done at the consideration of that legislation. so i have no objection. mr. merkley: i will defer -- the presiding officer: the senator from oregon is recognized. americamark i'll defer if you have other business to conduct. but i'll proceed, if you feel that's acceptable. okay. thank you

merkley? >> aye. >> whitehouse? >> aye. >> enzi? >> no. byr>> byrd? >> no by proxy. >> sen. murkowski? >> no by proxy. >> roberts? >> no by proxy. >> chairman kennedy? >> aye by proxy. >> the vote is 14 ayes, 9 nays. >> reed 200 is adopted. he has to relieve sen. dodd, and he will assume the position. are there any other amendments? sen. enzi? >> i would call up 204. >> enzi 204. hatch >> the purpose is to allow individuals eligible for medicaid to enroll in a qualified health plan. expanding the program to 150% of the poverty -- this will bankrupt the states. if we want to expand health-care coverage, medicare is a bad place to start. according to the washington journal, medicaid beneficiaries have more poor health and their friends with private insurance, many of them cannot find doctors and cannot get the care that they need. 51% of the family physicians participate, in michigan this is 64%, this is in 2005. i cannot believe that this forces them to stay in a dysfunctional system without al

senator merkley? >> thank you very much, madam chair and i wanted to address this to secretary salazar and possibly secretary vilsack. oregon has a tremendous amount, millions of acres of second growth forests that is overgrown. it's a disaster in terms of carbon dioxide 'cause those forests are prone to burn down. they're bad for disease and yet they're very -- they're not growing in a fashion that's most productive for either timber or for good ecosystems. thinning strategies and healthy management strategies can address that. one possibility is that by changing those practices on those lands, we have a significant impact on carbon dioxide but since you don't have a private partner, it's not clear how the offsets would work if purchased from the forest service if you will. but the communities greatly need revenues in order to conduct forest-thinning programs. and the communities need revenue to offset the lockup of these lands. and this goes back to basically the secure rules goals challenges that w

thank you for the courtesy, senator merkley. thank you for inviting me to testify before you on the critical issues of energy policy and america's future. america's future is so tied to our energy policy that this hearing can be held before the senate armed services, foreign relations, finance, energy or budget committee and be equally important and relevant to their work. energy policies significantly impacts the aspect of american foreign and domestic policy. energy is the lifeblood of our economy. our national security depends on it. when we think of it it must be in the broader context. as we all know, our country's in the worst economic crisis as in decades. been felt at the kitchen table of every family as unemployment is at the highest rates since 1983 and the average workweek has fallen to 33 hours. our government is vastly increasing our national debt to get our economy back on track. even though everybody knows the national debt's increasing at an unsustainable rate, we're taking the risk because robust economic growth

merkley: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. merkley: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that gabriel be granted floor privileges until the end of this session in congress. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. merkley: thank you, madam president, and i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: quorum call: a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from arkansas. mrs. lincoln: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent to dispense with the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. lincoln: thank you. mr. president, i also ask for unanimous consent to speak as if in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. lincoln: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, today i rise to speak in support of five amendments that i have introduced to the bill before us, the national defense authorization bill for fiscal year 2010. and each amendment focuses on improving the ben

senator merkley? >> mr., i would call up casey amendment number 200 ask that it be added unanimous consent to be added as a cosponsor to this bill clec you are calling it senator casey's 200? >> yes, sir. >> okay, kc 200. >> thank you very much, mr. chair. this amendment sets up a commission of nonpartisan health experts to provide recommendations to the health and human services secretary regarding the items and services that should be included in the essential benefits package. some of the core points on this is that it would be very helpful for the secretary to have such a commission of nonpartisan experts to provide insight from various perspectives on the element of this core package. and second, that having an open and public process would give the citizens of our nation and interest groups a chance to weigh in and make sure that every prospective is considered as a secretary reaches their conclusion. so an open and public process. this amendment also requires the secretary to assess whether the benefi

senator merkley. >> thank you very much, madam chair. i wanted to address this to secretary salazar and possible secretary vilsack. oregon has millions of acres of second growth forest that is overgrown. it's a disaster in terms of carbon dioxide to those forests. they're -- they have very bad disease. they are not growing at a fashion that's most productive for timber or for good eco systems. thinning strategies and healthy management forest strategies can address that. one possibility is that by changes ose practices on those lands we have a significant impact in -- on carbon dioxide. since you don't have a private partner it's not clear how the offsets would work if purchased from the forest service, if you will. but the communities greatly need revenues nor to conduct forest thinning programs and the communities need revenue for the lockup of these lands and this goes back to basically the secure rural schools challenge we've had. so there's a real potential win-win. and i just wanted to ask if you thought about that issue on changin

i think senator merkley, i think senator enzi wanted to comment. then i will turn to you. >> if that's on the same line, i would defer. >> senator merkley, did you want to comment on the policy or did you want to comment on the scoring? >> well -- >> or the cost? >> i want to comment on your amendment 201. >> then perhaps i could ask my question first, because i was just wondering if there's any limitation in the language on what would be determined to be preventive service as opposed to other kinds of services. >> what would be the preventive services? >> is there a definition of what would be preventive as opposed to other kinds of care? the reason i ask that is because i have been making a point with everything that everybody, regardless of whether they're man or woman, ought to have some skin in the game on their regular care and that gets them to be a little more careful on what they buy, and to be involved in their own care rather than just saying well, it's for free -- >> yes, preventive services are defined by hersa guidelines. i believe th

thank you for the courtesy, senator merkley. thank you for inviting me to testify before you on the critical issues of energy policy and america's future. america's future is so tied to our energy policy that this hearing can be held before the senate armed services, foreign relations, finance, energy or budget committee and be equally important and relevant to their work. energy policies significantly impacts the aspect of american foreign and domestic policy. energy is the lifeblood of our economy. our national security depends on it. when we think of it it must be in the broader context. as we all know, our country's in the worst economic crisis as in decades. been felt at the kitchen table of every family as unemployment is at the highest rates since 1983 and the average workweek has fallen to 33 hours. our government is vastly increasing our national debt to get our economy back on track. even though everybody knows the national debt's increasing at an unsustainable rate, we're taking the risk because robust economic growth

prussian army like most was the best fighting force in europe, but on the other hand he was also extra merkley open-minded and did a lot of reading and military theory on the side and was particularly interested in the debates going on at that moment about tactics within the french army. but on the other hand, the courier in the prussian army crushed his spirit because somehow in 1763 he ran afoul of a -- someone who didn't like him very much. he was never clear about this in the later writings, who specifically he could blame for this. something that obviously wounded him very deeply. most likely the entity of frederick's camp, rather unpleasant gentleman who ruined the careers of several officers he found to be threatening. either way, abruptly steuben was relegated to a company command mediocre regiment and remote post and ultimately by the summer of 63 after the war had been over he was dismissed from the surface, and this is a terrible ending for him. this is the career he prepared for all his life, the one his father had done as well and at age 33 he's a retired infantry captain on half

let's see senator merkley is not here.nator klobuchar, senator cardin you're next. >> thank you, madam chair. following up to the last questions, if the united states were to act alone and no other country in the world were to take action i personally believe it would be good for our economy and would create more jobs in america and keep jobs in america. but i must tell you that's not the issue. the issue is what's going to happen in copenhagen and i can tell you in my conversations with my colleagues and those around the world particularly in europe they are looking forward to america's leadership and they believe it will play a critical role in getting other nations to move and to set the bar high enough so we really can make an impact on global environment. so i think that's what we're all trying to do. but looking at the legislation we're considering, we're trying to improve quality of life here in america, trying to make it easier for people to deal with their everyday needs, make it healthier for americans and keep j

. >> senator merkley. >> aye. >> senator whitehouse. >> no. senator enzi? >> no. >> senator gray?. >> senator alexander? >> no by proxy. >> senator burr? >> no by proxy. >> senator isacson? >> no by prox. >> i senator mccain? >> no. >> senator hatch. >> no. >> senator murkowski? >> senator coburn. >> no by prox. >> i senator roberts. chairman kennedy? >> no by proxy. >> vote is five neys, 17 yais. >> the amendment is not agreed you to. the second amendment now is on the hatch amendment. for the record, i want to be sure that modification was included. >> the modification of the six months, is that modification? >> what's this? >> yes. >> six month addition for pediatrics. >> this is the hatch amendment. >> modification. >> six months for pediatrics. >> okay, i object. i didn't realize that we had a motion to do that. >> i mentioned it at the end of my discussion. >> i didn't understand it was on the floor and there was a chance to object then. >> do you are a right to modify -- >> you are the right to modify amendments. >> second degree amendments. the amendment is on the hatch am

helped with these issues and the part-time workers and making certain that they not discriminate, jeff merkley for the council yesterday to provide the support so intelligent people are making decisions, and sheldon in dealing with the public auction, this has been a significant contribution. every member of the committee has made a great commission. 160 of the ideas were adopted, many of them added value and 23 of us, one-quarter of the senate, has been engaged for 60 hours in a discussion of this critical issue. even if you do not vote for this bill, you made a contribution and the process is not completed yet. we will begin to work with other people to fashion this. there is a reason that every other administration has failed. this is one sixth of the economy. this is not acceptable, this is unsustainable. despite the differences we bear a common responsibility for a common answer. i believe on the determination that i have seen in the last five weeks that we can achieve this result. the president is deeply committed to this, he has said that he will expand every bit of political capital th

kay hagan, jeff merkley, sheldon whitehouse, bob casey, shared brown of -- sherrod brown as well. i mentioned the ideas that they brought to our bill and made it a better bill. mike enzi, lamar alexander, john mccain, lisa murkowski, pat roberts, orrin hatch, many a going to miss somebody when you start that list. but the idea is we came together and worked and we have a product now and we need one out of the finance committee. but we need to get on the business of working at this in my view. you cannot sustain the present situation, and the american people deserve a lot better. they need the same kind of security, in my view, that we provided for ourselves as members of the united states congress. i don't think the american people are going to accept the notion that they should have to live with the kind of fear and frustration that is associated with having the kind of health care system in our nation, knowing we could do better. and so, mr. president, i thank my colleagues for the work we've done already and urge us over this break, if we're not going to be back hear working, t

merkley: mr. president, we stand at a critical juncture today as we grapple with how to fix our broken health care system. rapidly escalating health care costs are compounding the current economic crisis in america. families and businesses across the country are struggling to afford increased premiums, copayments and deductibles. premium increases are taking an increasing portion of workers' wages and more firm are under pressure to reduce or possibly eliminate health care coverage for their workers. helping middle-class families and small businesses afford health care coverage is a critical component of improving the nation's economy. mr. president, families and business owners in oregon have told me at length how concerned they are about the rising costs of health care. those families who have health care are concerned about losing it, and they're concerned about the rising cost of the premiums and the copays. and those citizens without health care, and nearly 47 million americans are unable to

of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable jeff merkley, a senator from the stae of oregon, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: robert c. byrd, presidet pro tempore. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: following leader remarks there will be a period of morning business, senators will be allowed to speak up to 10 minutes each, no roll call votes during today's session of the senate. mr. president, many americans are fortunate to have health insurance help them pay for their prescription, treatments, or even doctor visits. like any kind of insurance, we hope we never have to use it, but it's comforting to know it's there. what happens if the system designed to give us that sense of security and stability isn't itself secure or stable? where does one turn when that certainty is taken away? that's a fear too many middle-class families in america have. they see the jobs around them disappear. for some one of those jobs may be their own job. they see their paychecks get smaller, or they struggle

kay hagan, jeff merkley, sheldon whitehouse, bob casey, shared brown of -- sherrod brown as well. mentioned the ideas that they brought to our bill and made it a better bill. mike enzi, lamar alexander, john mccain, lisa murkowski, pat roberts, orrin hatch, many a going to miss somebody when you start that list. but the idea is we came together and worked and we have a product now and we need one out of the finance committee. but we need to get on the business of working at this in my view. you cannot sustain the present situation, and the american people deserve a lot better. they need the same kind of security, in my view, that we provided for ourselves as members of thenited states congress. i don't think the american people are going to accept the notion that they should have to live with the kind of fear and frustration that is associated with having the kind of health care system in our nation, knowing we could do better. and so, mr. president, i thank my colleagues for the work we've done already and urge us over this break, if we're not going to be back hear working, to li

merkley: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to executive session to consider calendar nos. 197 and 258, the nominations be confirmed en bloc, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table en bloc, that no further motions be in order, and any statements relating thereto appear at the appropriate place in the record as if read. the president be immediately notified of the senate's action and the senate then resume legislative session. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. merkley: mr. president, i understand that h.r. 2454 has been received from the house and is at the desk. the presiding officer: the senator is correct. mr. merkley: i ask for its first reading. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: 2454, an act to create clean energy jobs, achieve energy independence and transition to a clean energy economy. america america mr. president, i ask for its second reading and i object to my own request. the presiding officer: the objection