. >> mr. reid of nevada. >> no. ( laughter ) ( applause ) >> mr. reid of nevada. aye. >> the yays are 60, the nays are 39. h.r. 3590 as amended-- the patient protection and affordable care act-- is passed. ( applause ) >> through 24 days of grueling debate, republicans had done everything they could to stop the bill, and they warned it's not over. minority leader mitch mcconnell: >> i guarantee you that people who voted for this bill are going to get an earful when they finally get home for the first time since thanksgiving.

mr. reid: madam president? the presiding officer: mr. leader. mr. reid: may we have order, mr. reid: may we have order, >> leader, may we have order, please the presiding officer: anyone wish to change their vote or hasn't voted? by a vote of 88 ayes and 10 noes, the motion to concur on the house amendment to the senate amendment on defense appropriations is approved. leader. mr. reid: first of all, to the united states senate, this is a good strong message we've sent to our men and women in uniform around the world as 88 senators voted -- it was a little bit of a struggle to get here but we got here, and i'm so grateful we were able to do that. i have some -- we're going to do the continuing resolution now until the 23rd. the reason for that is this defense bill will take a little time to enroll it. we just want to make sure that there's no gaps in having the full funding that secretary gates has indicated he needs. i ask consent that the senate proceed to immediate consideration of h.j. res.

mr. reidreid move to reconsided lay that on the table. madam president, i ask the chair to lay before the senate a message from the house with to h.r. 3326, the department of defense appropriations act. the presiding officer: the chair lays before the senate the message from the house. the clerk: resolved that the house agree to the amendment of the senate to the bill, h.r. 3326, entitled an act make appropriations for the department of defense for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2010, and for other purposes, with an amendment. mr. reid: madam president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i move to concur on the house amendment and have a cloture motion at the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion. the clerk: the senator from nevada, many reid, moves to concur in the house amendment with an amendment. mr. reid: no. i thought there was a cloture motion there. the clerk: the senator from nevada, mr. reid, moves to concur in the house amendment to t

mr. reid: mr. president? vice president the majority leader. mr. reid: like so many endeavors that have benefited so many americans, making health insurance more affordable and health insurance companies more accountable is a process. it's one that is required as to find common ground as we should. that's why, mr. president, we have a piece of legs that over the -- legislation that over the next decade will reduce the deficit by $132 billion. over the next decade, as much as $1.3 trillion. now, mr. president, everyone knows we've had votes in the middle of the note and on christmas eve because the republicans wouldn't allow us to have votes at any other hour. now, it's true when we go home, we're going to hear an earful. i'm going to hear an earful from young caleb. a boy, mr. president, that was born with legs that stopped right here, above his knees, he needed new prosthetic devices because the rest of his body is growing. but the insurance company said no, because he had a preexisting condition. i'll get an earful from caleb and especially from h

mr. reid: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the baucus motion to waive be set aside. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. reid: mr. president, i want to take just a moment to talk about the motion to table the appeal by senator cornyn that no point of order lies under rule 44. senator cornyn's appeal is not about transparency. and it's certainly not about disclosure, it's about delay and obstruction. that's what the whole tenor of all of the republican statements have been regarding this legislation. the goal is to create a new point of order even though the senate rules does not allow a point of order. they want to rewrite the rules at a whim. not for purpose of disclosure of transparency, but for purpose of delay and obstruction. the legislative history of the honest leadership addresses the issue of whether a point of order lies in this instance. quote, if the rule -- if rule 44 does not expressly provide for a point of order with respect to a provision, then no po

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: it's my understanding the time until -- let's see, until 7:10 is equally divided and controlled, is that right? the presiding officer: the senator is correct. mr. reid: i designate the majority whip, the senator from illinois, dick dinner, to have control of that ten minutes -- dick durbin, to have control of that ten minutes on our side. the presiding officer: who yields time? mr. alexander: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee. mr. alexander: mr. president, how much time do we have on this side? the presiding officer: ten minutes. mr. alexander: please let me know when a minute remains. mr. president, we're here on this early saturday morning as we lead up to christmas day to finish work on the defense appropriations bill, but the country knows that the focus of our attention, the reason we're here is because of the health care debate. we're in our 19th or 20th consecutive day of considering health care and we still don't have a bill. in other words,

mr. reid: i think we would come in somewhere around noon on sunday. i indicate to my friend that it appears that we have the -- the next opportunity for amendment will be when we complete this. it's my understanding that senator ben nelson is ready, has an amendment. i think we've given it to your staff. this may be one where it's

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the leader. , majority leader. mr. reid reid: i ask unanimous consent the time until 1:00 a.m. equally divided and controlled between the leaders or their designees, that senators be permitted to speak for up to ten minutes each, that the mandatory quorum be waived and the majority leader be recognized for the last ten minutes and the ten minutes prior to that, the republican leader be recognized if he chooses to speak. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: mr. president, those who are following the business of the senate may be surprised to find us a little after midnight in session. this is a decision made by the senate just a few hours ago to postpone the continuation of our session into a new legislative day. the purpose is parliamentary so that a motion which we have filed can be voted on. it's an important motion. it's a cloture motion. we often have them. it's a motion that closes debate on the floor and moves us forward

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i ask -- we're not in a quorum call. the presiding officer: that is correct. mr. reid: mr. president, we're here today, it's 7:00. my friend -- and i want to make sure the record reflects that he is my friend, the republican leader. we scuffle and argue out here but we've done a lot of things together over the years. but i do have to look at this, this direct quote from my friend just this afternoon. "i'm anxious to have health care votes since tuesday. we've had the crapo amendment pending since tuesday. we'd like to vote on amendments. all we're asking is an opportunity to offer amendments and get votes." mr. president, that's what we've been trying to do now for the last several hours. so first of all, i have a cloture motion at the desk with respect to the conference report to accompany h.r. 3288. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: cloture motion. we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the sena

mr. reid: i ask consent -- unanimous consent that i be allowed to engage in a colloquy with the sthr senators from connecticut -- with the senior senators from connecticut and montana. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid reid: madam president,n the american people demanded last november and throughout this year that we make it possible for every northern afford a -- for every american to afford a healthy life, they did so because they know from personal experience just how broken our country's health care system really is. and as the senate has worked to answer that call this year, we've drafted a bill that will save lives, save money and save medicare. many aspects of the current bill achieve that goal. but there's one more thing we can do, closing the notorious gap that arbitrarily charges seniors in nevada and throughout the entire nation thousands and thousands of dollars for prescription drugs. as seniors know all too well, the prescription plan is called medicare part-d an

mr. reid: mr. president? vice president the majority leader. mr. reid: like so many endeavors that have benefited so many americans, making health insurance more affordable and health insurance companies more accountable is a process. it's one that is required as to find common ground as we should. that's why, mr. president, we have a piece of legs that over the -- legislation that over the next decade will reduce the deficit by $132 billion. over the next decade, as much as $1.3 trillion. now, mr. president, everyone knows we've had votes in the middle of the note and on christmas eve because the republicans wouldn't allow us to have votes at any other hour. now, it's true when we go home, we're going to hear an earful. i'm going to hear an earful from young caleb. a boy, mr. president, that was born with legs that stopped right here, above his knees, he needed new prosthetic devices because the rest of his body is growing. but the insurance company said no, because he had a preexisting condition. i'll get an earful from caleb and especially from h

mr. reid: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that no further points of order be in order during the pendency of h.r. 3288. the presiding officer: is there objection? no objection, so ordered. mr. reid: mr. president, it is my understanding -- mr. leahy: could we have order, mr. president. the presiding officer: order in the chamber. mr. reid: the next vote will be tomorrow morning at 9:30. we'll come in -- i would ask -- we'll be happy to come in at 8:30, but i would ask consent if we could have that vote at 8:30 -- i mean, 9:30, we'll come in at 9:00, if that's okay with everybody. mr. mccain: will the majority leader yield for a ghe. mr. reid: be happy to. mr. mccain: on the one hand the disposition of the pending dorgan amendment, could we have some idea about that? mr. reid: i think my friend from arizona asked a very pertinent question. we have made a consent -- we have offered a consent last evening and did i again today that we would have the votes that are now before the senate in seque

mr. reid: mr. president? vice president the majority leader. mr. reid: like so many endeavors that have benefited so many americans, making health insurance more affordable and health insurance companies more accountable is a process. it's one that is required as to find common ground as we should. that's why, mr. president, we have a piece of legs that over the -- legislation that over the next decade will reduce the deficit by $132 billion. over the next decade, as much as $1.3 trillion. >> everyone knows -- we have the votes in the middle of the night and on christmas eve goes the republicans would not allow us to have votes -- because the republicans would not allow us to have votes any other time. we're going to go home and here and your fault. i am going to hear from a boy who was born with legs that stop here, who needed to set up new prosthetic devices because the rest of his body is growing, but the insurance company says no because he had a pre-existing disabilities. i will get an earful from his parents, and your full of joy and happiness

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader is recognized. mr. reid: all over this great country of ours, people are dying soon, far too soon. more and more americans who come down with the flu or even develop diabetes, suffer a stroke are dying far earlier than modern science says they should die. more and more americans who contract skin cancer or have a heart condition are dying rather than being cured. pull out the medical records of these patients and the official forms will tell you they died from complications of disease or maybe some surgery. but what's really killing more and more americans every day are complications due to our health care system. much of our attention this year has been consumed by this health care debate. and a national study done by harvard university found that 45,000 times this year -- nearly 900 times every week -- more than 120 times every day, an average every 10 minutes without end, an american died as a result of not having health insurance. every ten minutes. the numbers are numbing. they don't even include th

mr. reid: madam president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: following leader remarks, the senate will resume consideration of the health care legislation with the time between 1:30 between the two leaders and their designees, between 1:30 and 11:30 tonight, there will be alternating hours with the republicans controlling the first hour. at 11:30 p.m., the senate will recess until 12:01 a.m. with the time until 1:00 a.m. equally divided and controlled between their leaders their designees, with the democratic leader controlling the final ten minutes and the republican leader the ten minutes before that. at 1:00 a.m., the senate will proceed to a vote in relation to the health care bill. that time until i have at 1:30 i designate to the [inawd inaudi] the presiding officer: without objection. under the previous order, the leadership sometime reserved. under the previous order, the senate will resume consideration of h.r. 3590, which the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 175, 3590, an act to amend the internal revenue code of 198

. >> mr. reid nevada. >> no. ( lahter ) ( applause ) >> mr. reid nevada. aye. >> the yays are 60, the naysre 39. r. 3590 as amended-- the patient prottion and affordable ce act-- is passed. ( applause ) through 24 days of grueling debate, republicans had do everything thecould to stop the bill, and th warned it's not over. minority leademitch mcconnell: >> i guarantee y that people who voted fothis bill are ing to get an eaul when they finay get home for the first time sincehanksgiving. >> reporter: but democrac leaders were tumphant as they oke to reporters afterward. >> this is victory because we've affirmed thathe ability to live a healthy lifen our great country is aight and not merely arivilege for the select few. i look forward to working wi my friends in the house so w can send a bill the president as soon as possible. >> this is probay the most important vote that every sitting member of e senate will cast in their tene here. and i'm just proud thave been a rt of it, and i thank my colleaguesor staying with this. reporter: and president oba had his

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i'm happy to respond through the chair to my distinguished colleague. i think it's pretty evident to everyone here, not only on what's happened here on the senate floor but the statements that have been made, publicly and privately, and certainly i'm not going to discuss any of the private conversations i've had, but the -- based on the rush limbaugh and glen beck, which is on all the news today, they're upset at senator mcconnell because he's not opposing the health care bill enough, that reasonable process on this -- there are no efforts made to improve this bill, only to kill this bill. and i -- i think that this debate has really come to a point that i've rarely seen in the senate -- in fact, i've never seen it -- to have my friends on the other side of the aisle come to the floor and in some way try to embarrass or denigrate me by virtue of the fact that -- in fact, trying to embarrass me. but they should understand, any events i had scheduled this weekend have been canceled

mr. reid is pressing to pass a bill in a race against rising unpopularity and president obama's falling approval ratings. mr. reid made this case with his usual intellectual nuance this week -- quote -- "instead of joining us on the right side of history, all republicans can come up with is 'slow down, stop everything, let's start over.' if you think you've heard these excuses before, you're right. when the country recognized the wrongs of slavery, there were those who dug in their heels and said slow down, it's too early, things aren't bad enough. equating opposition to medicare cuts, he related that to women's suffrage, social security and medicare. he would have done better if he listened to mrs. snowe's comments about durable social reform needing to be bipartisan, because while social security passed when the democrats controlled both congress and the white house, she pointed out that 64% of the senate republicans and 79% of the house g.o.p. supported it. civil rights passed with 82% of r

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader is recognized. mr. reid: i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader is recognized. mr. reid: i ask consent the call of the quorum be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. roeupl following leader remarks the senate will resume consideration of health care reform legislation. the first hour will be equally divided and controlled between the leaders or their designees. the -- we expect to vote in relation to the hutchison amendment today and the sanders amendment. it is my understanding senator sanders will offer his amendment around 11:00 today. they will both be pending. senators will be notified as to when any votes are scheduled. mr. president, we continue 0 making progress toward making it possible for every american to afford to be able to live a healthy life. senators continue to work together towards a goal because even though they may have differing op

i appreciate the comments -- mr. reid: mr.resident, could i ask my friend, the distinguished senator from ohio, to allow me to make a brief statement so the senate knows what's going on? i would ask, madam president, that the senator from ohio -- the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: -- be returned to the floor as soon as i finish my brief statement. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: madam president, i had a conversation earlier today with the distinguished republican leader. it appears now that we're going to get the appropriations bill from the house of representatives. the bill is something that is bipartisan. everyone has worked hard. we have some conference reports that we have completed and yet didn't find time to work here on the floor, for reasons everyone understands. that bill will come over from the house tomorrow. we can move to that with a simple majority vote. and then if i file cloture on it tomorrow, we would have a saturday cloture vote. 30 hours after that, sometime sunday mo

mr. reid: following reared marks the senate will resuming h.r. 3590. the time until 11:45 will be divided and controlled equally between senator mikulski and the minority leader or their designees. at 11:45 the senate this morning will proceed to a series of two roll call votes. the first vote will be in relation to the mikulski amendment as modified as to be followed by a vote in relation to the murkowski vote. following votes the time until 2:45 will be equally divided and controlled between senators baucus and mccain or their designees. at 2:45 there will be two votes. all four votes today will be subject to a 60-vote threshold for adoption. mr. mcconnell: would my friend yield before making opening remarks? i was wondering since it is thursday, my colleagues plan to be here saturday and sunday but would phraoeubg to know whether there will be an opportunity to go to church sunday morning? mr. reid: i think we would come in somewhere around noon on sunday. i indicate to my friend that it ap

mr. reid: mr. president, senators should expect a series of roll call votes, maybe as many as five, to begin at approximately 2:13 tomorrow afternoon. and if there's no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it adjourn under the previous order following the remarks of senator dodd of connecticut. the presiding officer: without objection. a senator: i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut. mr. dodd: madam president, i'd ask consent that the call of the quorum be rescinded. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. dodd: madam president, i'm going to take a few minutes here if i may this evening to speak about what this health care bill means to my constituents in connecticut, the benefits to our states are very similar in many, many ways but object dwrusly we like to point -- obviously we like to point out what this means in our own respective jurisdictions, what this means. but be

mr. reid: i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: mr. kaufman: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from delaware. mr. kaufman: madam president, i ask unanimous consent the senate now stand in -- i ask we rescind the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. kaufman: thank you. i ask the unanimous consent the senate stand in recess until 12:00 noon. that upon convening at noon and any leader time the senate resume consideration of h.r. 3590, with the time until 12:30 p.m. equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees. that from 12:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. there will be one hour alternating blocks of time with the majority controlling the first block and all post cloture time continue to run during any recess, adjournment or period of morning business until 6:30 monday. the presiding officer: before the chair announces the unanimous consent agreement, the chair announces that because cloture has been invoked, the motion to refer falls. without objection, the request

mr. reid: mr. president? vice president the majority leader. mr. reid: like so many endeavors that have benefited so many americans, making health insurance more affordable and health insurance companies more accountable is a process. it's one that is required as to find common ground as we should. that's why, mr. president, we have a piece of legs that over the -- legislation that over the next decade will reduce the deficit by $132 billion. over the next decade, as much as $1.3 trillion. now, mr. president, everyone knows we've had votes in the middle of the note and on christmas eve because the republicans wouldn't allow us to have votes at any other hour. now, it's true when we go home, we're going to hear an earful. i'm going to hear an earful from young caleb. a boy, mr. president, that was born with legs that stopped right here, above his knees, he needed new prosthetic devices because the rest of his body is growing. but the insurance company said no, because he had a preexisting condition. i'll get an earful from caleb and especially from h

mr. reid: that's right. and if there's any amendments here that would pass, it would be be a part of it. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from montana. mr. baucus: reserving the right to object. i wonder why under that consent is propounded whether the secondary amendments would be in order to the orders on that list? mr. reid: no. mr. baucus: i suggest the absence of a -- i do not object. the presiding officer: hearing no objection, so ordered. the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: i want to recognize two young pages who are actually on the floor with us today. martin shabin o&m icalla, stayed until the -- volunteered to stay until the senate adjourned and sacrificed some of their christmas vacation and volunteered their service during the weekend before thanksgiving break. we have pages on the republican side and democrat side. but both martin and micalla worked on the democratic side and republican side to make a 14 person job work with two people. one can imagine how difficult

mr. reid: mr. president? vice president the majority leader. mr. reid: like so many endeavors that have benefited so many americans, making health insurance more affordable and health insurance companies more accountable is a process. it's one that is required as to find common ground as we should. that's why, mr. president, we have a piece of legs that over the -- legislation that over the next decade will reduce the deficit by $132 billion. over the next decade, as much as $1.3 trillion. now, mr. president, everyone knows we've had votes in the middle of the note and on christmas eve because the republicans wouldn't allow us to have votes at any other hour. now, it's true when we go home, we're going to hear an earful. i'm going to hear an earful from young caleb. a boy, mr. president, that was born with legs that stopped right here, above his knees, he needed new prosthetic devices because the rest of his body is growing. but the insurance company said no, because he had a preexisting condition. i'll get an earful from caleb and especially from h

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. id: following morning -- senators will be permitted to speak 10 minutes each during that period of time. republicans will control the first 30 minutes, the majority will control the next 30 minutes. we'll continue work on an agreement to vote in relation to the drug importation matter, the crapo motion to commit, and the side by side to the crapo motion. these amendments and the motion with respect to h.r. 3590, health care reform legislation. yesterday i filed cloture on the bill we got from the house, appropriations bill h.r. 3288, which includes the commerce, justice, science, military construction, labor, h.h.s., transportation, financial services, state foreign operations. we're going to have at least two roll call votes on the motion to waive with respect to the conference report to date. senators will be notified when these votes are scheduled. mr. president, i would direct this question through the chair to my friend from south dakota. i offered a unanimous consent request yest

mr. reid: mr. president, we're going to come in at 10:00 in the morning. at this time it appears that we will have senator lincoln offer an amendment and i would hope that we can be ready that the time to have whatever the minority wants to in regard to that amendment. and then we are going to have an amendment offered by the republicans, and i would hope that we can dispose of those two amendments tomorrow, maybe in the early afternoon, by maybe 2:00, 3:00 start voting on them. mr. mcconnell: so am i correct in assuming that the votes are most likely going to be in the afternoon tomorrow or both morning and night? mr. reid: yes, in the afternoon. i think we'll need some debate in the morning. then sunday morning, at the request of the republican leader, we aren't going to come in until noon or thereabouts. mr. mcconnell: i think we're probably going to need some debate time, are we -- well, we're happy to have it in the afternoon. and then on sunday, obviously, we won't go in until noon on sunday and then -- mr. reid: yes, there is an event in washington

mr. reid: mr. president, are we in a quorum call?siding officer: the senator is in a quorum call. the presiding officer: i ask consent that it is rescind. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: mr. president, there were 45,000 funerals this year. these funerals stood out from the rest of the funerals. why? they were tearful as all funerals are. they filled loved ones with sorrow and grief as many know firsthand. but these 45,000 funerals were avoidable. that's why they were more tragic than most. because 45,000 times this year, nearly 900 times a week, more than 120 times each day, about every 10 minutes in america every day someone dies as a direct result of not having health insurance. that's really a sickening number. you'd have to be heartless not to be horrified. it doesn't even include those who did have health insurance, but died because it was not enough to meet their most basic needs. that's what this is all about. but it's not even just about death. how many citizens in each of our states are bankrupt and broke

mr. reid: mr. president, following leader remarks -- the presiding officer: the majority leader is recognized. mr. reid: i'm so sorry. sorry about that, mr. president. i just got a little ahead of myself, which is easy to do sometimes. following leader remarks the senate will resume consideration of the health reform ltion. the time until 10:00 is divided between the two leaders or designees. at 9:00 until 2:00 p.m. there will be an hour of alternating blocks of time with the majority controlling the first hour. the time between 2:00 and 2:15 will be equally divided between the two leaders with the majority leader controlling the final half, there will then be five or six roll call votes in relation to the hc bill. -- in relation to the health care bill. note the absence of a quorum, mr. president. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. [no audio] the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. mr. sessions: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from alabama is recog

mr. reid: mr. president? promise the majority leader is recognized. mr. eid: following leader remarks the senate bill resume consideration of the h.r. 35990. there will be time for debate. we can never determine for sure, mr. president, but it appears votes should start between 5:00 and 6:00. the senate will be in recess from 12:45 until 3:15 today for the the weekly caucus luncheons. mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican leader is recognized. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, with americans now really focusing in on the health care debate, it's important to take a step back and recall where we started, because somewhere -l along the way democratic leaders took their eyes off the ball. it's a good time to remember what this reform debate was all about. the goal of this legislation, by all accounts, everyone agreed the goal was to lower the cost of health care. this is what the president has to say. it's a direct quote. "the bill i sign," according to the president, "must slow the growth of health care costs in the long run." that

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: following leader remarks the senate will resume consideration of the health care bill. the time until 11:30 is equally divided and controlled between the leaders or their designees. the majority will control the first half, republicans the second half. we have a number of votes that we're going to try to arrange this afternoon. we'll let all senators know as soon as we have this worked out. but there will be some votes today and tomorrow. mr. president, the amendment process continues to crawl forward. with this historic health foreman bill continues to evolve and improve. this is a good bill. it saves lives, saves money and saves medicare. it makes health insurance more affordable. it makes health insurance companies more accountable. it makes our economy stronger. the democrats know we can make it even better. this is happening because of the dedicated hard work throughout the democratic caucus from veteran senators and newer senators, by the hands of men and women from the div

mr. reid: madam president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: following leader remarks the senate will resume consideration of the motion to concur with respect to h.r. 3326, the defense appropriations act. the first hour will be equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees. the republicans will control the first 30 minutes. the majority will control the next 30 minutes. we filed cloture on the motion to concur. that vote will occur sometime in the next 10 or 12 hours. madam president, we're going to finish this health care bill before we leave here for the holidays. we're nearly -- for nearly an entire year we've reached out to the other side, offered republicans a seat at the table, tried to negotiate in good faith. nearly a whole year. now we're closer than ever to fixing a badly broken system and doing more to make sure every american can afford to live a healthy life. republicans have made their point through obstruction manuals, missions they believe is good for stalling for electoral politics. tkpwapl mut

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader is recognized. mr. reid: following leader remarks the senate will resume consideration of the health care reform legislation. it will be for debate only until 11:30, alternating blocks of time. the first 30 minutes will be under the control of the republicans. the majority will control the next 30 minutes. the senate will recess from 11:30 until 12:30 today. following the recess the senate will resume consideration of the health care legislation. hopefully we can have some votes this afternoon. we've been unable to work that out with the majority, and we'll see what the afternoon brings. this historic health reform bill before us is strong, and it's a strong, strong head start in the right direction toward urgently needed change. like nearly every bill that comes before the senate, it stands to benefit from the constructive input of all senators. this good bill will be even better after this body debates it, refines it and improves it. we're pleased we've begun the amendment process. i hope we'll soon be

mr. reid: snrp. the presiding officer: the majority leader is recognized ment. mr. : following leader remarks the senate will resume consideration of the health reform legislation. following the leader remarks the time until 12:30 will be for debate only. the majority will control the first half of the time that's allotted until 12:30. the republicans will control the next half. the remaining time will be equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees. the senate will recess from 12:30 until 2:15 p.m. to allow for the weekly caucus luncheons. there are two amendments now pending. one is the nelson of nebraska amendment of the other is the mccain amendment, motion to commit. senators should expect votes after the recess in relation to the pending amendments. should i say, amendment and motion. mr. president, we have scheduled this morning -- as soon as the leader time is used -- a group of senators, democrats senators. these are all new senators. i hope those people that are watching understand the quality of the people who are now going to

mr. reid: madam president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. d: following leader remarks, the senate will resume consideration of the health care legislation. following those remarks, the first two hours will be for debate only, with senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each. the republicans will control the first 30 minutes, and the majority will control the next 30 minutes. the remaining hour will be equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees. the pryor amendment regarding enrollee satisfaction in the gregg amendment regarding medicare are pending, in addition i've been informed by senator ben nelson that he will offer sometime today the abortion amendment, either as the leader sponsor or as a cosponsor. these amendments we hope to complete this afternoon sometime and move on to other mea matter. f i should inform members we won't be in late tonight. there is an event at the white house that representatives will be attending. so we won't -- we aren't going to be late tonight but the rest of the week w

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader is recognized. mr. his great country of ours, people are dying soon, far too soon. more and more americans who come down with the flu or even develop diabetes, suffer a stroke are dying far earlier than modern science says they should die. more and more americans who contract skin cancer or have a heart condition are dying rather than being cured. pull out the medical records of these patients and the official forms will tell you they died from complications of disease or maybe some surgery. but what's really killing more and more americans every day are complications due to our health care system. much of our attention this year has been consumed by this health care debate. and a national study done by harvard university found that 45,000 times this year -- nearly 900 times every week -- more than 120 times every day, an average every 10 minutes without end, an american died as a result of not having health insurance. every ten minutes. the numbers are numbing. they don't even include those who did -- h

reid mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. eid: following leader remarks, the senate will resume consideration of 3590, which is the health care reform legislation. the time until 1:00 p.m. today will be equally divided and controlled. it will be for debate only. the time until 11:00 a.m. will be controlled between the two leaders or their designees and then the remaining time will be controlled in 30-minute alternating blocks of tiesm the majority will control the first block, the republicans will control the next. senators will be permitted to speak for up to ten minutes each. i expect the house of representatives to send to the senate this afternoon a conference report. when it arrives, we'll consider it. and if cloture needs to be invoked, then the senate will have to be in session this weekend for a saturday vote and a sunday vote in order to complete action on these bills. this bill is -- includes the bills that we have tried to complete. as you know, we've been held up by the minority to do these bills. bbut we we've mad

mr. reid: mr. president, as i mentioned, our underlying bill leaves current law where it is. this amendment, i repeat, does not. it goes further than the standard which has guided this country, as i said, for 33 years. it would place limits not only on taxpayer money, which i support, but also on private money. again, current law already forbids federal funds from paying for abortions, and our bill doesn't weaken that rule one bit. i believe current law is sufficient, and i don't believe we need to go further specifically. i don't believe that the senate needs to go as far as this amendment would take us. no one should use the health care bill to expand or restrict abortion. no one should use the issue of abortion to rob millions of the opportunity to get good health care. this is not the right place for this debate. we have to get on with the larger issue at hand. we have to keep moving toward the finish line and cannot be distracted by detours or derailed by diversions. our health reform bill now before this body respects life. i started by saying i believe in the sanctity

mr. reid: would the senator withhold? mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i would ask unanimous consent that the senate be in a period of debate only between now and 4:30. it's my understanding that there's been an agreement that at 4:30 we're all going to go to the classified room in the visitors center to listen to what the administration has to say about iraq and afganistan. so i haven't had a chance to clear this with the republican leader. but we -- for the next hour we'll be in a period of debate only. come back and offer the amendment after we finish with the classified brief. mr. president, the other thing, we have not yet had an agreement to recess at 4:30. i would ask, mr. president, we be in recess from 4:30 to 5:30 for our classified briefing. the presiding officer: without objection. a senator: mr. president? mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from idaho. a senator: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i want to continue discussi

mr. reid: mr. president, i said when the senate opened today and when the senate opened today and >> mr. president i said with the senate opened today and i will say again, because of the long hours we have spent here, four weeks, there is a lot of tension in the senate. and feelings are high and people have very strong concerns but what we have done and have to do but i hope everybody would go back to their gentlemanly ways and i would hope, i am trying to figure out how to say this, johnson and the ways or gentlemen that. [laughter] i hope everyone like rodney king, let's all tried to get along. it is a very difficult time for the next day or so. let's try to work through this. for those of the christian faith, we have a most important holiday. that is christmas. we hope everyone would keep in mind that out the time we've reflect peace and good things in life, i would hope everyone can nassetta side of personal animosity and focus on that holiday. >> mr. president? >> let me add to my good friend

mr. reid: mr. president, i appreciate the statement of the chairman of the finance committee. it is one of the most well reasoned statements that we've had. and rightfully so. no one has worked harder on this matter than senator baucus. so i really appreciate his dedication, his hard work and the way he handles that committee. the finance committee. i ask unanimous consent the time until 2:15 tomorrow, wednesday, december 2, be for debate with respect to the pending mikulski amendment and the mccain motion to recommit. that during this period that senator reid or designee be allowed to offer an amendment to the mccain amendment and senator murkowski be offered an amendment as a side by side to the mikulski amendment. that the debate time be equally divided. no other motions to commit in order to the pendency of these motions, at 2:15 the senate proceed to vote, prior to each vote there be two minutes of debate divide and controlled in the usual form. after the first vote, the remaining votes in sequence be 10 minutes in duration. further, all amendments and motion provided und

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: following leader remarks the senate will proceed to morning business with senators being allowed to speak for ten minutes each. the republicans will control the first 30 minutes. the majority will control the next 30 minutes. we're working on an agreement to line up votes on the subject of competing agreements with respect to health care reform legislation. pending is the crapo motion, baucus side-by-side on taxes, dorgan amendment, lautenberg alternative. we have four amendments we need to try to work something out on. it's not done yet but as soon as it is worked out, we'll notify senators. every day we don't act it gets more expensive to stay healthy in america. if you're fortunate enough to have health insurance, this isn't news to you. your premiums have more than doubled in the last decade even though the quality of health care has not doubled. if you're fortunate to have coverage, you might have noticed you're paying at least an extra thousand dollars to cover all the fami

reid mr. president? the presiding officer: the chair recognizes the majority leader. mr. reid: following leader remark, the senate will resume consideration of the health care reform legislation. following the remarks by the chair and ranking member of the finance committee or their designees, the next two hours will be equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees with senators permitted to speak for up to ten minutes each. the republicans will control the first 30 minutes. the majority will control the second 30 minutes. the remaining time will be equally divided and used in an alternating fashion. no amendments are in order during the controlled time. roll call votes could occur this afternoon but at this stage we have no knowledge that we have worked anything out and don't know if we will be able to work anything out. we'll give members as much notice as possible. mr. president, much of this momentous health care debate revolves around numbers, as it should. we read them in reports, see them in charts, hear about them in speeches. the state

mr. reid: mr. president, following remarks of the leaders the senate will resume consideration of h.r. 3590, the health care reform legislation. that will be until 11:30 and for debate only. republicans will control the first 30 minutes. the majority will control the next 30 minutes. any remaining time will be equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees with senators permitted to speak up to ten minutes each. at 11:30 the senate will turn to executive session to debate the nomination of jacqueline nguyen to be united states district judge for the central district of california. the vote will occur at 12:00 noon today. that will be the first vote today. the senate will recess from 12:30 to 2:15 to allow for our weekly caucus luncheons. following the recess the senate will resume consideration of the health care reform legislation. votes are expected this afternoon in relation to the health care legislation. mr. president, there are two truths about the historic health r

. >> mr. reid. >> aye. >> aye by proxy. >> mr. me nen dez? >> aye. >> mr. brown? mr. tester? mr. khol? mr. warner. mr. bennett? >> eye >> aye by proxy. >> mr. bennett? mr. corker? >> mr. vitter? >> no. >> mr. gregg? [unintelligible] >> mr. chairman? could i be recorded on this? >> [inaudible] >> mr. schumer is recorded as aye. senator hutchison voted nay. 16 of voting aye, 7 voting no, the nomination is passed. >> let me thank my colleagues. the committee will record this vote accordingly and i will let members know when we cançó talko the leadership about scheduling the vote on the floor. again, the invitation obviously -- we will talk about how we can do that. i would urge folks to talk to senator shelby. we can coordinate the efforts. i thank my colleagues for their patients and indulgence. we are adjourned. happy holidays. thanks. >> good job. >> all right. >> you are looking live at the senate. you can hear senator's waiting for a senate majority leader harry reid to come to the floor. they're expected to recess. they will set aside health care legislation and work on the $6

>> aye. >> mr. reid. >> aye. >> aye by proxy. >> mr. me nen dez? >> aye. >> mr. brown? mr. tester?khol? mr. warner. mr. bennett? >> eye >> aye by proxy. >> mr. bennett? mr. corker? >> aye. >> aye by proxy? >> ms. hutchison? >> mr. chairman, could i be recorded aye in person? thank you. senator hutchison voted nay. 16 voting yay, 7 voting no, the nomination passed. >> let me thank my colleagues. the committee will report this accordingly and i will let members know when we can talk with leadership about scheduling the vote on the floor. and again the invitation, obviously on these documents and so forth, the members and or staff, i would urge both the minorities to get in touch with senator açcÑcÑcÑcçcçcçcçcçcÑcÑc >> ben bernanke is nomination proceeds through the senate where he is expected to be confirmed despite opposition. the fed's current term ends in february. senator ben nelson of nebraska today announced his opposition to the senate health care bill over the issue of abortion. for details, we talked with the congressional quarterly reporter. >> we're joined by alex dwaine