mr. casey: mr. president, i would ask that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. casey: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, first, i ask unanimous consent that on frid friday, december 4, after any leader remarks, the senate then resume consideration of h.r. 3590, with debate only in order until 11:30 a.m., with no amendments, motions to commit or any other motion other than a motion to reconsider a vote, if applicable, in order during this period except those that are currently pending, with the time after the leader time equally divided and controlled between the leaders or their designees, with the majority controlling the first portion of time. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. casey: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. casey: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to executi

mr. casey: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from pennsylvania is recognized. mr. casey: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i rise this afternoon now to speak about the amendment that we're going to be voting on later today -- or one of the amendments we're going to be voting on later today. as we stand here today, we're debating the bill before the floor -- on the floor, the health care bill that -- where we're trying to do a couple of things at one time, and i think we can and i think this bill does it, even though we'll make some changes to it. we're trying to improve the quality of care for americans, whether they get their care heah care through a public program or a private insurance company or private plan. we're trying to finally use preventive measures to make people healthier and have better health outcomes. we're also working to reduce costs. and if you wanted to talk about it in terms of a doctor and a patient or a health care system and an america who should benefit from a health care system, we basically want to have the people get the care they

mr. casey: thank you very much, mr. president. i want to make an inquiry in terms of how much time i have left. the presiding officer: three and a half minutes, senator. mr. casey: okay. i'll move quickly. the second part of my remarks focuses on pregnant and parenting teens and women. we have an amendment that focuses on a group of pregnant women in america that we're not doing enough about. neither party, in my judgment, is doing enough about them, enough about help for those women. and i'm going to come back to this maybe later today, but it's vitally important that we as -- whether we're democrats, republicans, or independents, but as americans, that we give integrity and meaning to the sentiment that's often expressed that we care about pregnant women, that we care about a teen mother who decides to bear a child, that we're going to help her through that if she makes that decision. if a woman on a college campus becomes pregnant and decides to have that child, we want to give her all the help we can. if a woman is a victim of

mr. casey: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from pennsylvania. mr. casey: mr. president, thank you very much, and i rise tonight to continue the discussion and debate on health care. i have had the chance over the last couple of months to -- not only to do a good bit of work on a number of issues that relate to the bill and the two bills that came before it was merged into one bill, but also to hear from constituents across pennsylvania. some of them writing to us and urging us to pass a bill and some urging us to go in the other direction. but the communications that i get from -- from people that write about their own stories, their own family, their own challenges are, of course, the most compelling and the most worthy of time and attention, and often they come from pennsylvanians who are not only facing health care challenges but facing -- facing economic challenges that i don't think anyone in this chamber can really fully understand, at least not at this part in someone's life, because when you become a member of congress, you're usually in pretty good sh

mr. casey: i would like to thank senator harkin, who is a member of the health, education, labor and pension committee, taking over for senator kennedy. i know he feels an obligation not only to get the health bill passed, but feels an obligation to the american people, as i think most people do in this chamber when it comes to health care. in particular, i wanted to commend senator harkin for his great support for this legislation over a long period of time. and, in particular, for the last act. one of the best moments in our deliberations this summer was when senator harkin told a story about a relative of his. and in a few minutes, if he would tell that story, it brought home to me how important this program is and how it relates to the american people and what they don't have now especially those americans with -- with disability conviction. when i step back -- disabilities. when i step back and look at this program, a couple of things come to mind. a couple of themes, really one is the wor

mr. casey: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i rise this afternoon to speak about health care and the bill that is on the floor that we have been debating now for a number of days, the patient protection and affordable care act. i wanted to provide first a brief overview, but in particular to focus on provisions that relate to our children and then get into some detail about -- about those provisions and the important programs that are contained within those parts of the bill. first of all, as we all know from the debate here, what this side of the aisle has been trying to do is not just to pass legislation but to do it in a way that meets the goals that we set forth many months ago and as well as what president obama indicated much earlier this year in terms of some basic goals. i will just cite a few of those. to make sure that when we're enacting legislation, that we don't add to the deficit, that we at least break even, so to speak, but the good news is on the scoring done by the congressional budget office that t

mr. casey: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from pennsylvania. mr. casey: mr. president, thank you very much. i want to commend the work of our finance committee chairman max baucus for so many things in this debate. first of all, for helping us get health care legislation moving in 2009 and now at the point of getting very close to passing the bill. grateful for his leadership, and some of the highlights of the bill i just wanted to note in the -- in the remaining moments of our time. first of all, there has been a lot of debate over the last couple of days and weeks, but even over months about cost and care. well, fortunately we're able to report that with this bill coming out of the senate, we'll have more care and less cost. the deficit will be cut by by $132 billion over ten years as a result of this bill, and and $1.3 trillion cut in the deficit in the second decade. it will provide coverage for 94% of the american people, and the bill -- and this has not been talked about much, but the bill is a net tax cut for the american people. we're going to crack d

mr. casey: thank you. mr. president, we're in our discussion of health care, we've been focused 0en on a couple of major goals. the obvious goals i think are a major part of the legislation we're debating on controlling cost, the goal of providing better quality of care, providing care -- health care to millions of americans, tens of millions, really, that have no -- would have no chance to get that kind of coverage without this legislation, and also the concern that we have about not only controlling costs but, in this case, we have legislation on the floor that actually reduces the deficit by $130 billion and over beyond the ten years by hundreds of millions in addition, in terms of deficit reduction. and one of the concerns that we have is that in the midst of a health care debate about numbers and the details of the programs, that we also don't forget that some parts of our health care system work well but also we might need a change that would benefit a vulnerable population or americans that don't have t

mr. casey: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from pennsylvania is recognized. mr. casey: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i rise this afternoon now to speak about the amendment that we're going to be voting on later today -- or one of the amendments we're going to be voting on later today. as we stand here today, we're debating the bill before the floor -- on the floor, the health care bill that -- where we're trying to do a couple of things at one time, and i think we can and i think this bill does it, even though we'll make some changes to it. we're trying to improve the quality of care for americans, whether they get their care heah care through a public program or a private insurance company or private plan. we're trying to finally use preventive measures to make people healthier and have better health outcomes. we're also working to reduce costs. and if you wanted to talk about it in terms of a doctor and a patient or a health care system and an america who should benefit from a health care system, we basically want to have the people get the care they

mr. casey: thank you, mr. president. rise this morning to speak about health care and our children, the health care reform bill, the patient protection and affordable care act as it relates tower children. the chart on my left makes a couple of fundamental points that -- for children health care reform must follow one simple principle. and i just say it's four words, "no child worse off." when i say no child, of course, i'm speaking of children who don't often have a voice. obviously if there are children from family that's very wealthy, i think they'll be just fine no matter what happens here. but children who are poor and children who experience and have to live with special needs are the ones i'm talking about when i say nor child worse off. -- when i say no child worse off. i filed weeks ago, actually months ago now, joint resolution number 170. i was joined in that resolution by senator dodd, senator rockefeller, senator brown, senator whitehouse, and senator sanders. and we filed that resolution just to make this p

mr carper, aye ,r casey? mr. cockburn, know. mr. cochran, ms. collins, no. mr. conrad, aye. mr. courter,no. mr. cornyn, no mr. crepo, no. mr dement, no,. \ mr dodd, aye. mr dorgan, aye, mr durbin, aye mr ensign, no mr enzee, no mr feingold, aye, mrs. feinstein, aye. mr franken, aye. mrs,geillearand, aye. mr graahm, no mr grassley, no. mrñgreg, no mrs, hagan, aye. mr harkin, aye. mr hatch, no. mrs. hutchison -- mr.inhosfe, no. mr noway, aye. mr isaacs said, nope. mr.johans, no. mr. johnson,aye. mr. kaufman,aye. mr. careyaye mr. kirk,aye. mr coles, aye mr. pyle,no. ms landreau, aye. mr lautenberg, aye. mr leahy, aye. mr levin ,aye. mr. lieberman,aye. mrs. lincoln,aye. mr. lugar,no. mr. mccabe,no. mrs. castle,aye. mr. mcconnell,no mr. menendez,aye. mr. merkley, aye. ms. mikulskiaye. mr merkowski, no. mrs. mary,aye. mr. nelson of nebraska,aye. mr. nelson of florida,aye. mr. pryor,aye. mr. reed of rhode island,aye. mr. reid of nevada, [laughter] mr. reid of nevada,aye. [laughter] mr rich, no. mr. roberts,no. mr. rockefeller,aye. mr. sanders, mr. schumer,aye. mr. sessions, mrs. shahee

mr. casey: mr.resident, i ask unanimous consent that we continue with alternating blocks of time until 6:00 p.m. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. casey: mr. president, i rise at this late afternoon hour to talk about what has transpired over the last 24 hours. we had a, as you know, a vote at 1:00 a.m. this morning. to say that's unusual is an understatement to have the united states senate voting at that hour is most unusual. and what that vote symbolized and what happened here pursuant to that vote was, i think, an exercise in washington game playing. we have now a health care bill that the american people have been debating for months. the bill itself, the one in front of the senate right now is the bill we've been debating intensively in the last couple of weeks and we want to get to a vote on that. in order to get to a vote on health care, the republican side of the aisle decided that they would use any tactic necessary to stop the bill. so they came out in full

mrs. hutchison: isn't that the same as the language of the nelson-hatch-casey amendment? mr. hatch: you're right. let me read that language for you. in general, no funds authorized or appropriated by this act or an amendment made by this act may be used to pay for any abortion or to cover any part of the cost of any health plan that includes coverage of abortion. mrs. hutchison: based on what you've said, this is not new federal abortion policy? the hyde amendment currently applies to the plans discussed, including the plans that members of congress have, and the abortion protections for all of the federal health programs all say exactly the same thing and that we should -- the amendment that we are going to vote on, that is the nelson-hatch-casey amendment, would preserve the three-decades long precedent. that's what your amendment does. and that we must pass it if we are going to guarantee that the bill that is on the floor is properly amended so that it is the same as our 30 years of abortion federal policy in this country? mr. hatch: the reason it's so critical that we pa

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, those who are victims of domestic violence or other -- other ki

mr. casey: i want to thank my colleague from rhode island who has been the most forthright, in particular to what brings us to the floor at this moment. principally, his work and the work over many years that senator kennedy did for the so-called class act, the community living assistance services and supports act. what is this all about? i wanted to talk for a couple of minutes about how it works. i think sometimes when we get lost in the discussion about the finer points of a policy or program, we tend to forget what it means. here's what it means. here's what it means for an american who is working and wants to continue working to support his or her family or to support himself, contribute to our economy, demonstrate that people who happen to live with a disability of one kind or another can be so significant in our economy, can contribute so much with their ability and their brainpower and their ability to contribute in a very positive way. so we're talking about here the dignity of work, w

mr. hatch: i ask unanimous consent that senator cornyn be added as a cosponsor of the nelson-hatch-casey amendment. a senator: how much time is left on our side? the presiding officer: four minutes, 48 seconds. mr. johanns: i have been on the floor a number of times now debating this issue a while back on the motion to proceed and since this amendment has come out. the senator from utah, i don't believe i have seen a more concise, clear explanation of the history of the hyde language than i just saw over the last half an hour of debate here on the senate floor. you laid it out perfectly. you laid out how we have over a long period of time stayed with that hyde language. that was the agreement that had been reached. now, our colleague from texas said this is a foot in the door, and i agree with her. if this reid bill passes with the current language on abortion, it's not only a foot in the door, in my estimation it kicks down the door. it kicks down the door and sets up structure for funding, federal funding of abortions, and that's what we're going to end up with. now, a couple of weeks a

mrs. hutchison: isn't that the same as the language of the nelson-hatch-casey amendment? mr.ch: you're right. let me read that language for you. in general, no funds authorized or appropriated by this act or an amendment made by this act may be used to pay for any abortion or to cover any part of the cost of any health plan that includes coverage of abortion. mrs. hutchison: based on what you've said, this is not new federal abortion policy? the hyde amendment currently applies to the plans discussed, including the plans that members of congress have, and the abortion protections for all of the federal health programs all say exactly the same thing and that we should -- the amendment that we are going to vote on, that is the nelson-hatch-casey amendment, would preserve the three-decades long precedent. that's what your amendment does. and that we must pass it if we are going to guarantee that the bill that is on the floor is properly amended so that it is the same as our 30 years of abortion federal policy in this country? mr. hatch: the reason it's so critical that we pass t

. >> senator casey. >> mr. chairman thank you very much and i want to thank secretary gates these two things, your public service at this time and a nation's history as well as the review that was conducted along with the president which was both thorough and essential and contrary to some of the commentary around washington. i wanted to return to a topic that minow some have explored to some degree of betty, and that is president karzai and his government. we know that as we have heard a number of occasions in order to get this right and we have to get it right, i can't imagine a more serious and grave situation we have faced in recent american history but to get it right and get the security rights, the government's part of this right as well as other issues like development and to get governance write president karzai has to be a full partner in this. i was in afghanistan pakistan in august and i know that when you are on the ground in a country for a couple of days, i know that those few days in any country

casey, who was at the salahis wedding in 2002. teresa, she and mrs. salahi work together in the past and matthew christian davis, author of the best of d.c. which by the way featured both of the salahis. they were booked to be our guests tonight on this program. they postponed their appearance and they say they are anxious to tell their story. we hope to interview them as soon as they are able to do so. today's white house briefing brought a barrage of questions about the crashing of the state dinner. here is some of what press secretary robert gibbs had to say. >> the individuals that are listed weren't on any list. i think the secret service, through the director, has admitted that somebody who wasn't on a list and wasn't waved in was allowed into an event that clearly he said shouldn't be. >> so are you saying that the social office does not have any responsibility in this at all? >> april, there's an investigation, it's ongoing into the actions of what happened. i'll wait for that to be completed. >> larry: casey, you were at their wedding. have y

mr. president, let me begin by thanking senator casey for his consistent efforts in fighting to make sure that every american has good-quality, cost-effective health care. he's been a leader on this issue and i just want to congratulate him. mr. pr -- mr. president, i just want to touch on some of the health care issues that are out there. tell you what i think is positive in the bill that we are dealing with here in the senate and tell you what i think is not so positive. to begin with, as senator casey as aptly described, we have a system which in many ways is disintegrating. it is an international embarrassment that in the united states of america we remain the only nation in the industrialized world who does not guarantee health care to all of its people as a right. the result of that is some 46 million americans today have no health insurance. even more are underinsured with large co-payments and deductibles. we have some 60 million americans today who because of our very poor primary health care outreach network do not have access to a doctor on a regular basis and the result of tha

casey jr, a senator from the state of pennsylvania, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: robert c. byrd, president pro tempore. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader is recognized. mr. reid: following leader remarks, if any, the senate will resume the house message with respect to h.r. 332, the department of defense appropriations act. the time until 7:20 will be equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees with the final ten minutes reserved for the two leaders with the majority leader controlling the final five minutes. at approximately 7:20 a.m., the senate will proceed to a series of votes with respect to the defense appropriations bill. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. mr. alexander: mr. president? the presiding officer: under the previous order, the senate will resume consideration of the house message with respect to h.r. 3326, which the clerk will report. the clerk: house message to accompany h.r. 3326, an act making appropriations for the department of defense for the fiscal year ending september 3

mr. president, here's a letter that was written to senator bob casey of pennsylvania. listen to what this woman said. dear senator casey, in a country like the united states we shouldn't need a tip jar at an ice cream shop to raise money for a kid with leukemia. jennifer wood. here's another one of those letters. this one's from a father in north las vegas, nevada. quote, can you imagine what it is like to have a doctor look you in the eye while you hold your 1-year-old child and be told that you'll likely outlive your son? he goes on to say, i am certain my story is not unique, but it is real. stop forcing americans to use the most expensive point of service, the emergency room, to get what -- the system -- to get what the system won't give them. let's make all americans equal in the eyes of health care, please. close quote. mr. president, this legislation is not about the number of pages of this bill. it's about the number of people -- people like the man i just read, who was told by a doctor that he would likely will outlive his son. it's a number -- it's about the

mr. alexander: i can do that. the senator from arizona is exactly correct. if senator casey said that, he's merely repeating what the director of the congressional budget office, when he said that fully half the benefits of medicare advantage would be lost. but in answer to your question, the medicare advantage is an option that 11 million of the 40 million seniors who are on medicare have chosen. and the reason they choose it is because the plans that are offered by private companies a often in rural communities, lower-income americans choose these. they often choose them because the plans generally offer these benefits: dental care, vision care, hearing coverage, reduced hospital deductibles, lower co-payments, lower premiums, coordinated chronic care management, and physical fitness programs. so those are some of the benefits that these plans generally offer seniors. mr. mccain: well, i thank my friend. and the reason i ask is you mentioned that medicare advantage allows seniors to have dental care, vision care, hearing care, physical -- physical fitness -- physical fitne

mr. president, i have several articles here, and i'd like to read a couple of quotes from these articles. the first one is by -- from "the washington post" by david rivkin and lee a. casey. it says in here "the otherwise uninsured would be required to buy coverage not because they were even tangentially engaged in the production, distribution or consumption of commodities, but for no other reason than that people without health insurance exist. the federal government does not have the power to regulate americans simply because they are there. americans significantly in two cases -- united states vs. lopez 1959 and -- 1995 and united states vs. morrison in 2000 -- the supreme court specifically rejected the proposition that the commerce clause allowed congress to regulate noneconomic activities merely because through a chain of causal effects they might have an economic impact. these decisions reflect judicial recognition that the commerce clause is not infinitely elastic and that by enumerating its powers, the framers denied congress the type of general police power that is freely exercised by states." mr. president, i would just ask consent that after the senator from