mr. isakson: thank you, madam president. to the senator from florida who left quickly -- and i'm sorry he left -- i want to associate myself with the first part of his remarks with regard to the tourism bill. he is a floridian. florida is a tourism destination and it is the number-one business in florida, but you got to go through georgia to get there. so i have to chime in and say that he is exactly right. given the economic conditions our country is experiencing right now, tourism is one business that we can be a catalyst for that will pay back both in terms of revenues and tax dollars, but more importantly, in terms of jobs. so i just want to associate myself with his support of the tourism bill and that portion of his speech. madam president, injure phos , a minute, i want to talk about the opening statements on health care. it is pervasive in its coverage and the country as to the future of health care in america. i rise as one, not to be a critic, but to lay out the challenge that this legislation portends for all of u

this is very important and i really want to work with you on this senator isakson. >> mr. chairman walz senator isakson is having a chance to get up, caught up, having just walked in, let me say i'm more than willing to work with my chairman on the subcommittee. i think that, i understand senator isakson's passion about doing it now. this is the healthcare bill. this is a vehicle that is going and i think there's a concern on his part, even if we came to the same conclusion, would you have the consensus across congress to do this? and i remind all of my colleagues that it could be as simple as the senior going in and their direct it is, do everything to keep me alive you possibly can. this is not parsing this in some term, unless they have thought about it and i think that is what senator isakson is trying to do, is to get individuals on the record so that there is some instruction for family members. >> see, that is what i would like to talk about. what is the mandate in order to be eligible. second what is an informational packet? quite frankly senator isakson i would lik

mr. chairman. >> senator isakson. >> thank youç very much mr. chairman. years with 800 salespeople in a brokerage business and they're very much like, neil dealers, they made money of this all this seemsç like when you close your dealership's your firing your sales force, they are an asset and i don't understand the pervasiveness of the closures taking place but i have two questions in case you don't go too long and want to make sure these questions getç answered. mr. press, on february 5th 2009 you are quoted in appealing to your dealers to make 15,000 additional purchases of price our products in orbit to save the company in new said the falling -- you have two choices, you can either help us or burn us down. think of it this way, we are a bucket brigade to our in-house under present positions are filled and we don't tell the other 30 we're going to burn down. if you decide not toç do that we've got a good memory of who helped us and who didn't. i think that recognizes the fact that the dealers are your assets and you depend on them and so many of th

mr. chairman. >> senator isakson, thank you. i just want to make two points relative your question. one, i went back and read to the deicing issues -- the icing issues this morning in the transcript. and the co-pilot, this is a quote from the transcript. "i've never seen icing conditions. i've never deiced. i've never seen any. i've never experienced any of that. i don't want to have to experience that and make those calls. i've read out. i would like to -- i would have seen this much ice and thought, oh, my gosh. we're going to crash." if you read several paragraphs i think it does imply this person had minimalizing experience. the other point i want to make, when you traveled and commuted and got a full night's rest my guess is that someone making $20,000 traveling all the way across the country is not going to be paying rent on a hotel room or crash pad to find a place to stay because the public can't afford it. so that is of very important issue that senator isakson was raising. i apologize to my colleagues. [inaudible conversations] >> senator? >> thank you very much, mr. chair

mr. chairman. >> center lautenberg thank you very much. senator isakson. >> thank you very much mr. chairman. mr. babbitt we have tremendous confidence in you. i was very impressed with their meeting before your confirmation. you certainly have the record and the training to be a quality minister rader of the faa. my understanding is that faa requires that all pilots have adequate rest before they fly. is that correct? >> yes sir. >> they are the ones that certify that, is that correct? >> yes sir. >> in the case of the flight that crashed as i understand, the pilot had committed that day from tampa florida and had slept in a pilot lounge and there was no record of accommodation. the co-pilot had flown from seattle to memphis, to newark before they flew-- did not flight as a pilot but a passenger before they flew on the flight that ended up crashing in buffalo. .. should there be some requirements on the time in the air whether you're flying as a passenger to get to the polite that you're going to fly as a pilot or a co-pilot. >> we might want to look at that. i will tell you from my own pers

isakson number one. >> johnny? >> thank you, mr. chairman. i think there's a copy, everybody has a copy. >> good job. thank you. >> this amendment simply requires that upon signing up and becoming eligible for medicare, that every recipient will show proof of having exercised an advance directive legal in the state either by statute or by previous court cases. an advance directive is basically a durable power of attorney that directs physicians, hospitals, care providers, what an individual would want to take place in the last days of life if they are incapacitated and cannot make a decision. >> i don't think we have this. i don't think it as an amendment. i don't have it as a description of the amendment. i don't mean to interrupt the senator -- >> that's okay. the lady's welcome to interrupt. >> you are so very courteous but i want us to have what you're going to have. >> i thought it was already up there. >> he's passing them out. i'm sorry they weren't already there. basically, i have had an interest in this for 30 years because as many of you -- >> would you repeat what it does? >> what it basic

mr. reed: madam president, at the conclusion of the senator from maine's remarks, i would ask unanimous consent to be recognized for five minutes and then following me, senator isakson of georgia be recognized for 10 minutes. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. so ordered. mr. reed: thank you, senator. thank youment ms. snowe: thank you. madam president, i'm proud to join my colleagues in expressing, first and foremost, my admiration for senator kennedy phos long-standing -- kennedy for his long-standing vigorous leadership which has certainly been the impetus behind this critical legislation. undeniably, senator kennedy continues to serve as the strongest of champions on so many issues related to health care and we are all grateful for his tireless contributions to this major initiative. i also want to commend senator dodd, who has been guiding this legislation here in the united states senate, and i certainly appreciate all of his efforts to make sure that this legislation becomes a reality. i also appreciate the public health agencies and the advocates who have work ceaselessly to address this serious public health problem associated wit

mr. president, i would yield to senator isakson. the presiding officer: the senator from georgia. mr. isakson: thank you, mr. president. i'm delighted to rise with my colleague, saxby chambliss and pay tribute to my friend dr. bruce gruby. a lot of times we stand on the floor and say my friend when it is a passing statement. it's not for me. i met dr. gruby in 1999 when he was named the 11th president of georgia southern university and i was with him at commencement last year. he is a great leader in education in our state, and he will be missed. but he is both remembered and revered. there are three reasons i'd like to talk about in his distinguished career. number one, he did what is most important for college presidents to do. he raised the endowment of the university in a decade. in fact,