mr. dingell: madam speaker, i thank my colleague mr. waxman for his leadership and his gracious comments. i want to thank and praise our speaker, our majority leader and the leader in the senate for the great leadership they have given us in this time. today is a day that's going to rank with the day we passed the civil rights bill in 1964. today we are doing something that ranks with what we did with social security and medicare. this is a day in which we can all be proud if we vote for that legislation. facts are an intransgent, hard thing. let's look at the facts of that this does. 32 million americans are going to have health care that don't now. america, which has health care of the best character in the world, does not make it available to 32 million of its people because they can't afford it. and americans every day are losing their health care. 18,000 americans every year die for want of health care. and 44,000 americans also go bankrupt because of it. what does this bill do? it gives americans the same health care that we here

mr. dingell: madam speaker, i thank my colleague mr. waxman for his leadership and his gracious comments. i want to thank and praise our speaker, our majority leader and the leader in the senate for the great leadership they have given us in this time. today is a day that's going to rank with the day we passed the civil rights bill in 1964. today we are doing something that ranks with what we did with social security and medicare. this is a day in which we can all be proud if we vote for that legislation. facts are an intransgent, hard thing. let's look at the facts of that this does. 32 million americans are going to have health care that don't now. america, which has health care of the best character in the world, does not make it available to 32 million of its people because they can't afford it. and americans every day are losing their health care. 18,000 americans every year die for want of health care. and 44,000 americans also go bankrupt because of it. what does this bill do? it gives americans the same health care that we here

mr. dingell. that concludes our hearing. bank you all again.g performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] >> in a few moments, house majority leader steny hoyer on fiscal responsibility. "washington journal" is live ató 7:00. talk about unemployment insurance. we will have the new chairman of the naacp. we will look at the: security budget. "washington journal" is live on c-span every day at 7:00 a.m. eastern. a couple of live events to tell you that this morning -- the senate commerce committee continues to examine the toyota recalled. ñrÑi. eastern. also on cspan 3 at the same time, representatives from google and others testify about global internet committee before a senate subcommittee. tr reed has traveled the world. join our 3 our conversation with tr reid and your phone calls on sunday on c-span 2. now, house majority leader steny hoyer on fiscal responsibility and a new commission charged with recommending ways to reduce the federal deficit. he was at the brookings institution fo

mr. dingell's father.father before him introducing every term in congress the universal health care for all americans. and that legacy, that tradition was reinforced with our election in 2006 and then in 2008 to increase our ranks, to strengthen the democratic majority to pass this legislation. not only was it about the numbers. more important than that, it was about the significant improvement in the legislation. because of some of the members here and their colleagues in the class of '06 and the class of '08, the legislation that we enrolled here today makes this health care reform more affordable for the middle class. it makes it more accessible to many more people. it has more equity for the states by removing the nebraska arran arrangement. state equity. it makes it hold insurance companies more accountable by improving the reforms that were in the original legislation. it changes, because of the work of '06 and '08 classes. it changes the pay for, making it fair to the middle class. >> as nancy pelos

mr. dingell's father. his father before him introduced in every term in congress, universal health care for all americans. that legacy, that tradition has reinforced with the reelection in 2006 and in 2008 to increase our ranks, to strengthen the democratic majority, to pass this legislation. not only was about the numbers, more important than that, it was about the significant improvement in the legislation. because of some of the members who are here and their colleagues in the class of 2006 and 20008, makes this health care reform more affordable for a middle-class pri it makes it more accessible to many more people. it has more equity for the state by removing the nebraska arrangement. [laughter] state equity -- it makes insurance companies more accountable by improving the reforms that were there in the original legislation. it changes because of the work of this 2006 and 2008 class and changes the pay for, making it fair for the middle class. it closes the doughnut holes for seniors. it closes the do

mr. dingell had a piece of me yesterday for quite some time.[laughter] john dingell is one of my nearest, dearest, closest friends. i am glad for john dingell the have his day, and john dingell has been very helpful in keeping us all in communication and urging us to continue to make these discussions with the white house. is a fountain of knowledge and at times when it things -- like things would go by, mr. dingell -- i kept them well informed of what he was doing and he kept me well informed of what i should be doing. [laughter] any other questions? thank you all. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] >> i don't know. you have asked him. -- you would have to ask him. >> following this news conference, a group of anti- abortion republicans spoke about how the executive order would have no legal effect on restricting abortion funding. speaking first is congressman chris smith, who chairs the caucus. this is about half an hour. >> let me say how grateful we are for those

mr. dingell, back with us this afternoon. describe your emotions. >> it was great.be proud. i am delighted. my colleagues are happy and the interesting thing is we have done a great good for the people of the united states and solved a massive humanitarian, social and a massive economic problem that is destroying the american economy. >> for those who look at this as a tremendous start as setting a new mark for the debate where you have expansion of coverage but they believe there's messengerful opportuni meaningful opportunity, what do you say? >> i say yes. this will be a tremendous stride forward. 95% of americans will be covered by health insurance. that's something that's never been obtained before. insurance companies are compelled to good behavior. no more cancellation of a policy without reason and that reason only one being allowed is nonpayment of bills. it is going to see to it that ordinary citizens can get health insurance without worry about pre-existing conditions. it's going to mean that there will be reasonable controls on behavior of insurance and

mr. dingell who's actually been in the house since 1955. has introduced legislation on this magnitude every year since he's been in this house. the words i'm hearing are extremely cautiously optimistic. they are right there, right around that 216 magic number. some -- one democrat i spoke to recently says there are about 214. some go about 210, 212. either way, those are well within striking distance for house speaker nancy pelosi and president obama. so cautious optimism seems to be the day up here on capitol hill, very close to making this dream for many a reality. >> yeah. okay. we have a big story that will erupt about an hour or so from now whether there is a news conference with bart stupak talking about abortion in terms of the funding of it. what's this all about, what do you expect he's going to say? >> this is interesting, alex. this is kind of a last piece of the entire puzzle right here. bart stupak has been a very, very hardened pro-life democrat from michigan who wants extremely strict abortion language within this bill, withi

mr. dingell co-sponsored my amendment in committee it against this language you have actually there are membersf this committee here in 1999 who voted in favor of this amendment mr. diaz power, mr. pacings, mr. mcgovern, pete sessions luis slaughter. ms. matsui vote in favor in the committee. this language passed the house by a vote of 275 to 151 and six on this committee voted in favor. we owe to the american people to include protection against unwarranted denial of treatment reviewed by medical professionals and not paper pushers have never set foot in an examination room or treatment room. and the amendments offered from mr. martin. march 15th david axelrod state of the president doesn't believe state only notes or the president does not believe the state only votes should not be in the bill the president said special deals should come out so please allow mr. barton's amendments to be made in order they will help the president keep his word and save taxpayers billions. the first louisiana purchase, the amount is to remove the provision commonly referred to as the louisiana purchase which pr

mr. dingell.ll of our leadership -- they are well known to you, and you see them frequently at these sessions. as i said, this they would not be possible without the vision and leadership of the president of the united states, the inspiration of senator kennedy who has been with us every step of the way including right now. all of the difference in the world and all the difference for america's working families is made by our class of 2006 and 2002, our newest members bringing their fresh thinking, their tireless energy, and their deep commitment to the american people to bear on this legislation. paul tonko of new york, steve cohen of tennessee, mr. kilroy of ohio, carol porter of new hampshire, peter welch of vermont, franz kline of florida, and all of these young people that here who helped. all that we want to do to maneuver and win votes in the congress is not possible without the outside mobilization of people who understand the impact of the legislation and make their voices known to the me

mr. dingell, is recognized. >> i commend you for holding today's hearing.want to also commend the federal communications commission chairman genachowski and his team. they have completed a road map to insure broad and reaches every corner of the united states. there are two elements that should be the core of this effort. first, it should focus on promoting broadband adoption. second, it should establish and address a support mechanism for broad bands expansion into high- cost in underserved areas of the country. i am pleased that the national broadband plan includes chapters on these issues. nonetheless, i have great concerns about several of the plan's recommendations about spectrum reallocation. there are competition based issues. at best, these matters are ancillary to the congress's intent to expand national broadbent access. at worst, they would institute the old policy fights long said satisfactorily sceptred. -- satisfactorily settled. i wrote to address my misgivings about reallocating spectrum from broadcasters to mobile communications providers.

mr. dingell, what an honor it is to serve with you.[applause] and his father before him introducing ever term in congress. that legacy and that tradition is reinforced with the election of our members to increase our strength and increase the majority to pass this legislation. not only was it about numbers, more important than that, it was about the significance and improvements in the legislation. because of some of the members that are here and colleagues and the freshman class of 2006 and 2008, the legislation we are enrolled here today makes this health care reform more affordable for the middle class. it makes it more accessible to many more people. it has more equity for the state by removing the nebraska arrangement. and it holds the insurance companies more accountable by improving the reforms that were in the original legislation. it changes because of the work of this class. it makes it more fair to the middle class. it closes the donut for seniors and that is very important. if you are not a senior, and i am becoming more an

mr. dingell for five minutes. >> thank you for your kindness and courtesy. i commend you for this hearing, which is very important and i also commend you for your fine leadership of this subcommittee, for which you have done a splendid job. i want to observe the response by nhtsa to these safety defects has been sluggish. likewise, nhtsa possible decisions to terminate several and turned it -- several at internal analysis related to the defective toyota vehicles since 2003 due to a purported lack of resources leaves one with the impression the agency lacks the proper level of personnel and appropriations with which to fill its mandate. we want to find out if that is the case today. if that be so, the safety of the american public is at question. as was the case with its sister agency, the consumer products safety commission, nhtsa has suffered years of stagnation in funding and in many cases has endured production and personal levels, most notably in its office of defects investigation. nevertheless, the agency possesses a number of powerful enforcement tool

for a majority of the senate democrats voted for it from a senator bingaman, and chairman dingell, myself and mr. demint she worked in a bipartisan fashion. it took six years but it did happen so i'm not saying that its sweetness and light to go the regular order -- but it brings everybody to the table when it forces compromises -- the reconciliation package that the budget committee has put together, the only people that have had input into that are the inside democrats in the house and the senate and i guess the president and his staff. so it automatically is not going to have all the compromises that would if you had a little bit different process like i've talked about. >> i don't know of anything that has had more hearings or more work, we've got over bill's section by section in our caucuses and worked hard on them. for the i was here during the clinton health care debate which was very much the same and i remember the things that were said about it and one of the worst for me was the information that one out to the senior citizens under the clinton health care plan if by some chance the s

erce committee john dingell democrat of m. mr. -- michigan. some news reports this morning said that the house of representatives wants to have healthcare done by march 18 when the president leaves the country. is that going to happen? guest: i can't tell you that. we have run in nothing but trouble as we have progressed on this matter. if you will recall i have been trying to get it enacted for 54 years. i'm hopeful we are going to be able to do it and i believe we will. but there is almost total partisan opposition from my republican colleagues on this legislation including tremendous amounts of effort to at all almost everything in the senate. host: you wrote an op-ed recently for the "detroit free press" i believe it was where you said that the bill is bipartisan but the vote will not be bipartisan. guest: i think that is a fair statement. there are a lot of things in that bill which were ideas which the republicans had. it is far different than the bill which i would have had. i would go for single payer. host: that is what h.r. 1 is each

house of representatives and chairman emeritus of the energy and commerce committee john dingell democrat of m. mr- michigan. some news reports this morning said that the house of representatives wants to have healthcare done by march 18 when the president leaves the country. is that going to happen? guest: i can't tell you that. we have run in nothing but trouble as we have progressed on this matter. if you will recall i have been trying to get it enacted for 54 years. i'm hopeful we are going to be able to do it and i believe we will. but there is almost total partisan opposition from my republican colleagues on this legislation including tremendous amounts of effort to at all almost everything in the senate. host: you wrote an op-ed recently for the "detroit free press" i believe it was where you said that the bill is bipartisan but the vote will not be bipartisan. guest: i think that is a fair statement. there are a lot of things in that bill which were ideas which the republicans had. it is far different than the bill which i would have had. i would go for single payer. host: that is what h.r

house of representatives and chairman emeritus of the energy and commerce committee john dingell democrat of m. mr. -- michigan. some news reports this morning said that the house of representatives wants to have healthcare done by march 18 when the president leaves the country. is that going to happen? guest: i can't tell you that. we have run in nothing but trouble as we have progressed on this matter. if you will recall i have been trying to get it enacted for 54 years. i'm hopeful we are going to be able to do it and i believe we will. but there is almost total partisan opposition from my republican colleagues on this legislation including tremendous amounts of effort to at all almost everything in the senate. host: you wrote an op-ed recently for the "detroit free press" i believe it was where you said that the bill is bipartisan but the vote will not be bipartisan. guest: i think that is a fair statement. there are a lot of things in that bill which were ideas which the republicans had. it is far different than the bill which i would have had. i would go for single payer. host: that is what

mr. president, i yield the floor >> up next, remarks by mitt romney. after that, john dingell talks about his career in congress. then the joint economic committee reviews february employment figures. this week on america & the courts , the australian chief justice discusses -- the chief justice discusses the four lot in domestic courts issue. that is tomorrow at 7:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. >> the next to journalism must be one that is open to blog and e-mails that are hammering slight fists on the door to be let into the conversation to add new information, to raise new questions, to suggest new context. >> winners of this year's national press foundation awards talk about the role of journalism in a changing society saturday night at 8:00 eastern on c-span. >> former massachusetts governor in 2008 gop presidential candidate mitt romney discusses a range of issues including health care and the economy, government debt, and national security, and talks about the obama administration's handling of the issues. this event lasts about one hour. >> we are committed to our club. yo

formerly john dingell and the ways and means committee under the leadership of charles rangel and now under the leadership of sander levin from michigan. thank them very much. the energy, mr. scott what's your new committee name? energy, education and labor committee under the leadership of mr. george miller of california. all of these committees working together with the budget committee led by john spratt of texas and louise slaughter of new york -- did i say texas? excuse me, from south carolina. i'll personally apologize to him for that. john spratt from south carolina and louise slaughter from new york leading the rules committee. all these individuals working together to get us to the point where we were last night. the passage of this bill is monumental. it is historic. yesterday was not an ordinary day in the house of representatives. i thank my colleagues who voted for this legislation and i look forward to the results that it will yield. at this time, i will yield back my time to the congresswoman from the virgin islands. mrs. christensen: thank you, congressman butter feel. thank you for going through the process we have gone through over the past year. it's be