mr. redding? >> well, in sexual assault cases, i agree that there is some value to testing acquaintance rape kits. obviously, laboratories have to prioritize and they must prioritize and almost all laboratories do. our laboratories certainly do. >> it's not just dna, right, there's even more evidence, other kinds of evidence. there's more than dna? >> yes, yes, there are many types of other evidence. in the laboratories and prosecutors, of course, have to deal with the statute of limitations questions and those kinds of things that arise. but i do think that as we -- that as we move forward, we're going to discover and we're going to be able to ascertain what the value is of whether or not we should test every sexual assault kit. in the grant that i'm working on now, we're evolving that opinion as we go along. our grant expires in june. we are looking now to see whether or not in acquaintance rape cases that man who is identified by the victim is, in fact, in the offender database. if he's in the

mr. redding. in a recent national institute of justice report found that one reduction simply getting that evidence from the police department to the lab, the study recommended additional training of law enforcement personal in the creation of uniformed procedures for submitting evidence as well as improved training for police officers on the benefits and use of forensic analysis. i'll start with you, commander. in your experience, what role has training played in educating law enforcement person nel about the importance of d.n.a. testing and how do you, and how about prioritizing those cases where d.n.a. analysis is most useful? >> let me address the second part of your question first, in prioritization. i think the prioritization is something that has to occur in order to, as i said in my statement, in order to remove the offenders that are the greatest threat to society. so if you have a homicide and sexual assault that come in with a stranger offender versus a burglary of somebody's car, most

mr. redding and ms. stoilof, how do your departments track d.n.a.vidence and what kinds of resources are available to help police departments set up the kind of tracking systems that they require? . . there. i don't have the same kind of access in some of the smaller suburbs. there needs to be a uniform best practices, recommend to jurisdictions as to how long they hold on to evidence and how long they hold on to police reports. even some places, police reports are being destroyed within seven years and that is troubling to me as a prosecutor when we have expanded the statute of limitations, like we have in minnesota where we have a situation to go back to 1991 to prosecute these cases, but the police reports have been destroyed. we need a best practices about how long to keep evidence, how to keep track of that evidence and how long to keep something as basic as police reports. so it's very important and it's crucial. >>Ñi we have over 35 municipalities in miami-dade county, so i can only address what happens with our agency. i have no idea how the

mr. redding. in a recent national institute of justice report found that one key obstacle to reducing the backlog of rape kits around the country, simply getting that evidence in the police department to the lab. the study recommended additional training of law enforcement personnel, the creation of uniform procedures for submitting evidence as well as improved training for police officers on the benefits and use of forensic analysis. i'll start with you, commander. in your experience what role has training played in educating law enforcement personnel about the importance of dna testing, and how do you -- and how about prioritizing those cases where dna analysis is most useful? >> let me address the first part, or the second part of your question first, priorization. i think it's something that has to occur in order to, as i said in my statement, in order to remove the offenders that are the greatest threat to society. so if you have a homicide and a sexual assault that come in with a stranger/of

mr. redding. in a recent national institute of justice report found that one reduction simply getting that evidence from the police department to the lab, the study recommended additional training of law enforcement personal in the creation of uniformed procedures for submitting evidence as well as improved training for police officers on the benefits and use of forensic analysis. i'll start with you, commander. in your experience, what role has training played in educating law enforcement person nel about the importance of d.n.a. testing and how do you, and how about prioritizing those cases where d.n.a. analysis is most useful? >> let me address the second part of your question first, in prioritization. i think the prioritization is something that has to occur in order to, as i said in my statement, in order to remove the offenders that are the greatest threat to society. so if you have a homicide and sexual assault that come in with a stranger offender versus a burglary of somebody's car, most

mr. redding,l;3dnsph,d there as the need for improved infrastructure so dna evidence can be processed ass possible. the national institute of justice study revealed that six out of 10 police departments lacked computerized evidence tracking systems. they rely on paper tracking systems. it is no surprise that when some police department's review their inventories, they discover stores of untested kits. angeles. m r reading and ms stoiloff,#yew your department's track dna várq&ped police departments set up tracking that they would require? >> in my county, there are 46 different jurisdictions. that ability to attract information and to track inventories varies significantly. minneapolis has a good system. i can access it from my office and my paralegals can access it great we are able to look at thosey÷ issues and look at whats there when we want to try to ascertain if this is a case we can do something with or is the evidence never been submitted or inventoried. ,gi have goodqnç access their bi do not have the same kind of access in some other smaller suburbs. i think there needs to be a

the red line, mr. president, according to the congressional budget office, represents what health care costs would do if the reid bill passes. now, the ironic thing is that with the 400-page amendment that was added yesterday, this number gets bigger, not smaller. i said this is an outdated chart. this only represents represents $160 billion increase in the cost of health care, according to the c.b.o. analysis on the amendment. it increases the cost of health care by hundred billion. now, the c.m.s. actuary came to a slightly different conclusion. they said that health care costs would go up in the next ten years by $234 billion. so you have got everybody, all the experts, the congressional budget office, the c.m.s. actuary all coming to the same conclusion, and that is health care costs go up, not down. and so you would have to say, mr. president, yet another broken promise. now, the other thing that has been said throughout the course of this debate is that you can keep the insurance that you have. t

mr. liddy. >> radio has never sounded so red, white and blue.dible conversations] >> admiral jeremiah denton represented alabama in the u.s. senate from 1981-1987. he's the founder and president of the admiral jeremiah denton foundation. for more information visit admiral.dentonfoundation.org. >> author robert carroll, what are you reading? >> rereading the prime minister by anthony. he wrote six political novels about england in the 1870s. wonderful political understanding of how human beings in politics, how human nature influences politics. >> why are you rereading those? >> i just think he's got such a wonderful -- well, first his sentences are great, his paragraphs are great. you say, boy, how did he do this? so i'm always looking to see how he did it. but even more than that i write about how, i try to write about how human beings and presidents and cabinet ministers are affected by being in politics, and he's really doing the same thing in a fictional way. and as i try to learn from him. >> american icons, three original documentaries fro

following his stint with the red sox, mr.kell played for the chicago white sox and completed his career with the orioles. mr. kell helped to groom his successor, a third base fellow arkansas native, brooks robinson, who would later join mr. kell as an inductee in the baseball hall of fame. it was during that ceremony that mr. kell said how incredible it was for two arkansas natives to travel the same path to this same place. although he ended his career in 1957 he never truly left the game. as has been noted in 1958 he began broadcasting on cbs' "game of the week" and joined the detroit tigers broadcast team teaming with van patrick and earn drn ernie hollowell. mr. speaker, regrettably, george kell passed away in swifton, arkansas, on march 24 of this year at the age of 86. although he's no longer with us, mr. kell's memory will be living on through his family and son as well as the couptless baseball fans that he entertained as both a player and a broadcaster. let us honor mr. kell by designating the postal facility in his

mr. smith, i want you to notice, mr.ist say, i'm yielding back prior to the red light illuminating. >> i thank the gentleman. with that we yield to the gentleman from texas, mr. gohmert, who can use that remaining time and five beyond it. >> i've often advocated that we ought to be given a number of words rather than time. otherwise it's -- >> would that help people with a southern drawl and the slow talk? >> it would be a tremendous help. >> ok. >> but mr. rokita, let me ask you in your report it mentioned that acorn had violated f.e.c. law. did the f.e.c. ever contact you regarding your complaint? >> no. you make allegations that were pretty brazen about violating the law in the federal election commission did not bother to get back with you? >> i don't know of any communication from the federal election commission. and again, we focused a lot on the criminal statutes and put that to the u.s. attorney. and the lake county prosecutor as well. >> what u.s. attorney's offices responded to your request. >> the u.s. attorney's office for the northern district of indiana. and i've had numerou

mr. demint: then i guess our rules mean nothing, do they, if they can red define them. thank you. and i do yield back. the presiding officer: the senate stands adjourned until 7:00 a.m. tomorrow. >> c-span, christmas day a look ahead to 2010 politics including republican congressman eric cantor and nbc's david gregory. buzz aldrin and fellow astronauts on the legacy of apollo 11, a discussion on the role of muslims in america and the world. later, a former cia intelligence officer on u.s. strategy against al qaeda and afghanistan. and start at 8:00 p.m. eastern membered lives of william f. junior and senator ted kennedy. >> we now continue our coverage at the health care debate. next come the senate democratic leaders are joined by the president of the american medical association. the ama has endorsed the senate health legislation. this news conference is just under 25 minutes. >> dr., don't be bashful. we stand closer than ever to making it possible for every american to afford to live a healthy life. never have we been so close to reforming america's broken health insurance sys

mrs. clinton decided she didn't want to serve and stayed in the senate, i would have been stuck alienating about 20 people and choosing a person now not going to be senator. in redow spekt, hindsight is 20 lsh 20. if i had to do it again, that's what i would have done. mrs. kennedy was not treated correctly in the process. it happened on my watch, and therefore i have to take responsibility for what some people who thought they were helping were doing that was tragic. >> larry: we had a discussion last night about the black americans and president obama and are black americans disappointed so far as it pertains to their needs. how do you assess it? >> i don't think black americans are disappointed. i think black americans, highway patrol, are just like me. very proud of the president. the kind of incredible moment it was to elect an african-american president, a descendent of a class of people brought to this country as slaved was embraced by people who voted for him and even people who had serious dir differences with him. it was a great moment for america. it also was accompanied by the most fierce recession that we've had since the great depression. so all of

the price of prescription drugs is the red line. mr. mccain: would that have anything to do with anticipation of incoming reductions or reductions in increase in costs of pharmaceuticals? mr. dorgan: i would say to the senator from arizona my expectation is the pharmaceutical industry has said well, this is -- this is a time to increase these prices, and -- and the most important element here is there's no restraint, no one has any capability of restraining them. the only way you would provide restraint on this is if you said to the american consumer you know what, you don't have to buy it from these people at this price because it's sold in virtually every other country at half the price. you say to the american people we're going to give you the freedom to access that drug elsewhere. i think very quickly the pharmaceutical industry wouldn't be able to impose these price increases because then you would have competition. freedom equals competition in my judgment here on this issue. mr. mccain: could i ask the senator another question?

mr. smith, i want you to notice, mr.ist say, i'm yielding back prior to the red light illuminating. >> i thank the gentleman. with that we yield to the gentleman from texas, mr. gohmert, who can use that remaining time and five beyond it. >> i've often advocated that we ought to be given a number of words rather than time. otherwise it's -- >> would that help people with a southern drawl and the slow talk? >> it would be a tremendous help. >> ok. >> but mr. rokita, let me ask you in your report it mentioned that acorn had violated f.e.c. law. did the f.e.c. ever contact you regarding your complaint? >> no. you make allegations that were pretty brazen about violating the law in the federal election commission did not bother to get back with you? >> i don't know of any communication from the federal election commission. and again, we focused a lot on the criminal statutes and put that to the u.s. attorney. and the lake county prosecutor as well. >> what u.s. attorney's offices responded to your request. >> the u.s. attorney's office for the northern district of indiana. and i've had numerou

red tape. electronic medical records, which make administration more efficient and improve the quality of care, are still not in use for more patients. finally, mr. president, we cannot wait any longer because the inefficiencies of our system are crushing us and our budgets and even more pointedly because so many lives are at stake. 140,000 americans have lost their lives since 2000 because they lacked health insurance. we cannot afford to walk down this road any longer. we must change direction. this bill will do it in a positive direction. i ask that the balance of my statement be inserted in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. levin: and, again, i thank my good friend from montana and the other leaders who've made it possible for to us get to this point. mr. baucus: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from montana. mr. baucus: mr. president, i'll yield 16 minutes to the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: i thank the chairman of the finance committee. and i want to renew my invitation to senator coburn of oklahoma to please come to the floor but to do it soon before my time expires. i called his office to ma

mr. tonko: interestingly in that flatlining of the red curve on your chart is that period, that 10-year stretch where we saw health care insurance premiums more than double while that income, that average household income remained flat. what a painful experience and then we all know through anecdoteal evidence of the many stories of catastrophic situations where people were hit with, 37% increase in insurance premiums over two years with one less wage earner where they have to pick up $18,000 in medical expenses. this recovery requires bringing health care into a reformed situation, where there's affordability, accessibility, quality health care, making certain that our nation's employers and the families are all benefited by flattening and then bending that health care insurance premium curve. there are so many pieces of the puzzle coming into play, that this house, this majority, has advanced as high priorities, high priorities, energy reform, health care insurance reform, job creation and retention, making certain that services are provided in our communities, relief to state government, all

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mr. smith, i want you to notice, mr.ist say, i'm yielding back prior to the red light illuminating. >> i thank the gentleman. with that we yield to the gentleman from texas, mr. gohmert, who can use that remaining time and five beyond it. >> i've often advocated that we ought to be given a number of words rather than time. otherwise it's -- >> would that help people with a southern drawl and the slow talk? >> it would be a tremendous help. >> ok. >> but mr. rokita, let me ask you in your report it mentioned that acorn had violated f.e.c. law. did the f.e.c. ever contact you regarding your complaint? >> no. you make allegations that were pretty brazen about violating the law in the federal election commission did not bother to get back with you? >> i don't know of any communication from the federal election commission. and again, we focused a lot on the criminal statutes and put that to the u.s. attorney. and the lake county prosecutor as well. >> what u.s. attorney's offices responded to your request. >> the u.s. attorney's office for the northern district of indiana. and i've had numerou

there is a reason why that red line is going up, isn't there? mr. thompson: we cannot forget the taxes from the health care bill. mr. akin: those are additional taxes on top of the small businessman, over $700 billion. mr. thompson: much of that balanced on the backs of small businesses. mr. akin: you are saying, we're going to tell you what kind of health insurance you need and you are going to pay for that and if you don't, we will fine you and tax you. and on top of that, we're going to put 5% tax on top of any profits you make in your business. you won't be able to invest, because we're going to get that, too. on top of all of this, the red tape, the uncertainty, the lousy economy, tax after tax after tax, now we're going to hit them and tell them, by the way, any employee you've got, you have to pay for their health care and if not, we'll tax you heavily. i yield. mr. thompson: there was a headline in the "wall street journal" just yesterday that said, job cuts loom as stimulus fades. i think that speaks to the original point that we made that

red. many of these providers, i fear, would simply stop taking medicare patients which would jeopardize care for millions of seniors. now, mr. president, i want to make clear that i do believe there are savings that can be found in the medicare program. for example, far too much is lost each year to fraudulent claims. that's an area where we need to crack down. as we put in place the health care reforms that have widespread support on both sides of the aisle, we could also achieve real breakthroughs that would improve the quality of care while lowering the cost. but, mr. president, that's not what we're talking about in the underlying bill. instead we're talking about essentially across the board cuts, deep cuts, cuts that are going to hurt some of the most vulnerable people in our country, our seniors and our disabled citizens. this became even more clear to me as a result of a conversation that i had this past week with peter chuck, the c.e.o. of central maine health care. he runs the -- not only theter share i hospital in lewiston, maine, but also rural hospitals in western maine, in rumperd and bridgeton as well as a sm

mr. lance: thank you. it has been lent to the fact that we are funding these programs that we cannot pay and really the deficit is much higher than that and medicare will be in the red in the next several years and social security not too far beyond that. mrs. lummis: so, will the gentleman yield? mr. lance: certainly. mrs. lummis: are you telling me that social security dollars that americans paid into a social security trust fund have been lent to the federal government to spend on these programs we've been discussing tonight? and i yield back. mr. lance: i thank you for yielding, congresswoman. absolutely 100% accurate. it is not going for the purposes for which it is intended based upon the social security program established in 1935. i do believe that those who established the social security program, franklin roosevelt, distinguished members of congress, including sam rayburn, francis perkins at the secretary of labor, that that generation would be appalleded by how we use -- appall by how we use social security funds in this -- aballed by how we use social security -- appalled by how we use social security funds. mr. coffman: thank you, congresswoman lummis.

mr. cuellar: by direction of the committee on homeland security, i present a privilege red port to accompany house resolution 922 for filing under the rule. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the -- title of the resolution. the clerk: report to accompany house resolution 922, directing the department of homeland security relating to the department's planning, information share, and coordination with any state or locality receiving detainees held at naval station guantanamo bay, cuba, on or after january 20, 2009. the speaker pro tempore: referred to the house calendar and ordered printed. for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan rise? >> i move to suspend the rules and pass resolution 894. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the rizz lesion. the clerk: resolution 894, resolution honoring the 50th anniversary of the recording of the album "kind of blue" and reaffirming jazz as a national treasure. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from michigan. >> i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revi

red. the gentleman from florida is recognized. >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank you, gentlemen, for our extraordinary service to our nation. general mcchrystal, in response to senator mccain's question the other day about the inability to defeat al qaeda unless bin laden is captured, did you mean there will be u.s. presence until bin laden is captured and can your plan ever fully succeed if bin laden is not captured? >> congressman, thanks for the opportunity to expand on that. it was a very short quinn in a long hearing. i believe al qaeda can be defeated overall but i believe it's an ideology and he is an iconic leader. so i think to complete the destruction of that organization it does mean he needs to be brought to justice. it will be another of the steps. however, i don't believe that simply getting him ends that organization either. i think it's one step in it. >> thank you. thank you, mr. chairman. >> the time of the gentleman has expired. >> let me -- thank you for this hearing. also, let me just say i do remember very clearly those who didn't have

simple course of politics as usual, most of those red states would be written off because they typically support the republican party. but not this time, mr. president. health reform isn't about politics. it's not about one party or the other. it's about the lives that are at stake here that we're trying to help. its a about the people who -- it's about the people who suffer every day under a health care system that fails to deliver up to the promises of this great nation. so when i come -- when it comes to our health care legislation, a vote against reform is a vote against the people who so desperately need our help. that is why i'm asking my republican friends to rise above politics as usual when they make this choice. recently some of my colleagues across the aisle have said that our bill would slash medicare. mr. president, this is simply not the case. this doesn't cut medicare, no $465 billion. our bill would do nothing of the kind. this is just another cynical attempt to scare seniors into opposing health care reform. and we've had enough of that, mr. president. and the truth is this: according to the nonpartisan congressional budg

red flags and warning signs and testimony, it is well documented. we know that this type of thing could happen in the future. unfortunately, as mr. coffee has indicated in his testimony, low- level all the log justifies more serious reforms than have already been adopted by the sec, and there i agree and and completed to -- committing to exploring other ways of improving that. i welcome any insights that you may have on this with regard to the hearing today in going forward as well. one thing i think, and i will close on this -- one thing i do not think that we should be doing is to say, let's throw more money at the sec and not ask for any more results from them. unfortunately, it is part of the investor protection at approved by this committee, and the package of bills that will be going to the house floor this week, there is an authorization for the sec to be doubled, with basically no strings attached as to where the money goes. my colleague offered an amendment which i co-sponsored. it was scaled back future authorization increases for the sec and would have tied to any of those increases to first for them to have to fill so

mr. tim fagan, a young 16-year-old boy from long island, new york to receive a liver transplant. he was prescribed a drug after his transplant to boost his redood cells and to fight the anemia after the operation. he received daily injections, but his red blood cell count was and improving and the doctors couldn't figure out why, what was happening. after two months, tim's mom went to her local cvs pharmacy where she was told by the way the epogen your son has been taking may have been counterfeits. and here is an example of again an example of counterfeiting in the existing domestic drug supply. counterfeiting in which this container called the counterfeit medicine and its container held a real real medicine. there were subtle differences, but not much. turned out that the vials that tim was inject dean could take one 20th of the strength of what he was supposed to be taking and what was disclosed on label. how did that happen? while the weaker drug sells for $22 a bottle and the high-strength version goes for $445 a bottle. investigators found that 110,000 of the bogus bottles reach the market in this country and is estimated that criminal

mr. president. it's about reducing costs. it's about raising quality, and it's about saving medicare so it doesn't go in the red by 2017, giving it 10 more years and beyond because of the delivery system changes. mr. president, i'm proud to support this bill. we continue to work for reform. as you know, this is not just an end, this is a beginning, and there will be more work to do in the future. but we can't put our heads in the sand. we have to vote on this bill. we have to get this done. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from ohio. mr. brown: thank you, mr. president. it's been that said a cynic knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. i spent, as we all have, the last -- as the senator from minnesota has, as the presiding officer has, spent the last three weeks listening to my colleagues come to the senate floor to describe health reform legislation that bears no resemblance to what is actually before us. they take liberties with the cost of the bill. they seem to have no concept of the value of health care to a family that has it and to a family that doesn't hav

will be denied treatments and continue to have to fight their insurance company red tape to get the care they deserve. so, mr. president, that's what this is all about. i'm going to continue to stand up and tell the stories of families and small business owners from my home state of washington because they are counting on us to fix this broken system. and i urge my colleagues to focus on their states and join us with to pass true health insurance reform. and before i yield, mr. president, i want to take this opportunity to make just one additional point. you know, as everyone knows, we have been working incredibly demanding schedules in the recent weeks. senators have seen this floor at every conceivable hour: late at night, early in the morning, in the face of a blizzard. but, you know, far too frequently we forget that every time we are here, there are literally hundreds of staff forced to be here along with us. in fact, they are often here long before we arrive and long after we leave. you know, this body couldn't function without the tireless dedication of these men and women. many of them are here now,

mr. outside became household names. another nicknamed cadet, carpenter bece famous for his position in a new formation. imagine by legendary coach redt, carpenter would line up so close to the sideline that he didn't even join in the huddle. the novelty created a media because that helped his teammate pete dawkins become army's third heisman winner. >> i didn't expect to win the heisman. we were kind o a cinderella team, not highly thoug of ahead of tim but i think we ended up third in the nation. so i was genuinely not expecting to be selected. but thrilled beyond description when i learned it. >> army footbal in those days, our success made it a very popular place. like i say, the esprit decorps and the pride the cadets had s just terrific. >> are the players familiar with the great history that some of the army teams have had over the years? >> i think one thing the coach has done, he's brought that back. you kn, during preseason camp, he was showing us highlig films of past year teams of army football and i think we've grown accustomed to knowing that army has a winni tradition and our job is to keep it going. >> we've storied t

mr. speaker. here we are again with a transformational issue that's slowly being brought forward before the american people. i'm here to say, let's pay attention my red flag is up. i've watched the transition of issues that have unfolded since -- actually, for year, but intensely unfolded since the beginning of the obama presidency. these issues unfoldled -- unfolded in this fashion. perhaps i'll go back and revisit them many more detail. the american people did go to the polls a year ago last november and sustained majorities and actually expanded majorities for democrats in the united states senate and the u.s. house of representatives and they elected a president who fit their mold as a party member, a democrat, a very liberal democrat. in fact, president obama, in the short time he served in the united states senate, had the most liberal voting record out of all 100 u.s. senators. so they elected, i think it's not arguable or even close to arguable, the people they have united states elected the most -- the people of the united states elected the most liberal president of this country. while there wasn't legitimate debate in the presidential race

mr. tim fagan, the young 16-year-old boy from long island, new york who received a liver transplant. he was described a drug called at the gym to boost his red blood cells and to fight the anemia after the operation. he received daily injections but his red blood cell count was and improving and the doctors couldn't figure out why, what was happening. after two months, tim's mom went to her local cvs pharmacy where she was told by the way the epogen or a site has been taking may have been counterfeits. and here is an example of again an example of counterfeiting in the existing domestic drug supply. counterfeiting in which this container held at the counterfeit medicine and this container held the real medicine. there were subtle differences, but not much. turned out that the vials that tim was injecting to take one 20th of the strength of what he was supposed to be taking in what was disclosed on the label. how did that happen? with a weaker drug sells for $22 a bottle and the high-strength version goes for $445 a bottle. investigators found that 110,000 of the bogus battles reach the market in this country. and it is estimated that crimina

mr. speaker, while one month saw job losses does not show success, it certainly shows we are trend trending in the right direction. this blue is since president obama took office. the red is the time under former president bush. you see back in january of 2008 we started losing jobs. here is when the presidential candidate for the republicans claimed that the fundamentals of our economy were sound. and in the last month that president bush was in office, this country lost over 740,000 jobs. the blue shows the direction under the obama administration where we are trending in the right direction. it's not success but it certainly shows we are trending in the right direction from over 700,000 jobs to 11,000 jobs. it's a tragedy for any family that has lost a job, but it does show that one election has truly made a difference in our economy. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back her time. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? >> ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. johnson: thank you, mr. speaker. you know, the american people deserve some answe

red. 68%. in rural areas -- in rural areas as high as 80% will have negative margins. and if you lose those services in rural areas, mr. president, they are lost. in fact, they may be lost forever. skilled nursing facilities are already struggling to keep their doors open. i visited -- visit these facilities when i get back home. many of us do. they are already doing everything they can to make ends meet. already seeing them go under in community after community, i visit these facilities and they tell me -- hospice programs in nebraska have been very well received. years ago i might have predicted otherwise. but, in fact, the reality is that hospice has worked well in my state and i'm guessing in states across the country. a survey reported 100% think access to hospice services is important. the bill cuts $80 billion nationally from hospice programs. how can we legitimately expect little or no impact or just simply attempt to argue it in a way that when 38 nebraska hospice programs are already operating right at margin. any reduction and they go out of business. hospitals will also see negative impacts. let me quote,

mr. demint told the news. over on the republican side, on the house side, a congressman from michigan, said the suspect should have had a red flag next to his name. you would have thought that this would go right to the top of the list. the threat is real. we need to be on a fence. americans traditionally perceive republicans to be strong on national security issues. but the party's tactics in this case the back by. if this line of attack continues it's going to reveal problems not just with the obama administration but with a home in seek of the system, a system that was put in place by president george w. bush, said a professor at princeton university. bow bridge, louisiana. mark warner democrat line. good morning. >> caller: good morning. i think the president is actually doing a good job. this christmas eve, not master, but tragedy on the plane, it tells you the white house has a grip on al qaeda operatives trying to set up sales in yemen. also, not to throw the cia completely under the bus, there was an interesting comment this morning. howw3 many pots has the cia stopped in the last few years that we don't know about.

red tape. madam president, i think we should be about facilitating the creation of new jobs, not killing jobs through ill-considered policies like this bill. i yield the floor. mrs. boxer: madam president? the presiding officer: senate from california. mrs. boxer: madam president, it's an honor to be here in the senate, a time when we're working on one of the major issues of our time. we know that generations of leaders in both parties have tried toll solve health care crisis, and they've done it bit by bit. we read history, we know that leaders struggle with social security, the democrats were in the forefront, the republicans fought us every step of the way. and, frankly, roosevelt took the lead on that. and we had john kennedy and lyndon johnson take the lead on comaimplemedicare. the republicans fought us every inch of the way on that. we had some cooperation from certain senators and certain members of congress. but overall it was very difficult. and this fight is very difficult. to make sure that we turn things around. we live in a society where if we don't step into the chair, we are told by -- reid chair, we are told by nonpartisan surveys -- if senator