mrs. hutchison: mr. president, i rise today to talk about the start treaty. we have been debating the start treaty off and on throughout the last few days, and there will be an amendment voted on for the resolution after the 3:00 vote on don't ask, don't tell. i want to talk about the amendment and the treaty itself. the start treaty is seeking, of course, to limit the strategic, the long-range nuclear weapons that are currently in the united states and russian inventory, for a total of 1,550 warheads for each country. while these limits require some reductions in the number of delivery vehicles and deployed warheads, both countries possess, a change in the counting of warheads will allow both countries to cut hundreds of them on paper with no actual reductions. for example, under start i, each deployed delivery vehicle was counted as carrying a specified number of warheads regardless of how many warheads were actually equipped on the missile or bomber. new start abandons these rules, instead only counti

mrs. hutchison: thank you mr. president. mr. president, the house today did pass legislation that would extend the tax cuts for those middle-class taxpayers that make under $200,000 a year. that's a good thing. i support that. but, mr. president why on earth would we extend the tax cuts for a certain segment of the population and not extend the tax cuts for everyone? why would we do that? who are the job creators in our country? what is the problem our country has right now? jobs. we have an unemployment rate that is hovering around 10% so what should we be doing in congress to try to alleviate that situation? we should be doing everything in our power to create jobs in the private sector. the private sector is where jobs will be a career, where it will be something that will support a family that can grow. so of course we're going to support tax cuts for everyone, for everyone in this country because we are in an economic recession, and the idea of increasing taxes on the people who would create jobs is something that could onl

mrs. hutchison: thank you, madam president.madam president, i rise today to say that i think the president of the united states and our senate minority leader, mitch mcconnell, have done a great job. as i hear the talking heads and the pundits and different people talking about this compromise, this way forward, i am sure of it because no one is completely happy with it. people who think that we should have a death tax are not happy with this bill. people who think, as i do, that the unemployment goes too far and isn't paid for and should have been, are on the other side. but, we are now faced with a choice. are we going to allow the taxes for every single individual in our country who pays tax to go up on january 1. we could talk all day about how we should have addressed this much earlier. yes, that's true. but we are where we are. it is now mid-december, and it is long past time. when we should have told the american people he, every family, every business in this country what the tax policy is going to be for two years. mad

mrs. hutchison: thank you, madam president. madam president, i rise today to say that i think the president of the united states and our senate minority leader, mitch mcconnell, have done a great job. as i hear the talking heads and the pundits and different people talking about this compromise, this way forward, i am sure of it because no one is completely happy with it. people who think that we should have a death tax are not happy with this bill. people who think, as i do, that the unemployment goes too far and isn't paid for and should have been, are on the other side. but, we are now faced with a choice. are we going to allow the taxes for every single individual in our country who pays tax to go up on january 1. we could talk all day about how we should have addressed this much earlier. yes, that's true. but we are where we are. it is now mid-december, and it is long past time. when we should have told the american people he, every family, every business in this country what the tax policy is going to be for two years. ma

senator hutchison. >> mr. flourish, mcdonald's as we said is one of the businesses that has received laborers from hhs and according to your testimony in response to company surveys only 3% of your current employees said they would be willing to pay more than $35 a week for health insurance. the chairman said that you have a cap on your minimeds of $2,000 in benefits.. do you believe that mcdonald's has -- if that is true i would like to ask is that true and if so, do you think mcdonald's has found the best plan possible for this $35 per week health coverage for your employees? >> we did survey our employees to find out whether they would be willing to pay. we factored that in in the marketplace and work with outside experts and said who are the organizations we should take a look at to construct a this insurance program. we came up with a group of companies. we had a strong internal team that looked at these proposals. we have a more customized plan with the insurance carrier that we have and what exists else

my time is way over, so i go to senator hutchison. >> mr. chairman, i have asked my questions.let senator boxer go. >> thank you so much. what percentage of these low income people health care plans do you pick up? what percentage do you pay? >> $10 per month for first tier -- >> no, the range. what do you pay your employees on average? what percentage do you pick up? >> what percentage of the subsidy? >> of the health care premium do you pick out? do you pick up $20? $10? what is the percentage you pick up for your employees? >> anywhere from 10% to 20%. >> what do you pick up for your corporate people? >> we picked up 80% for our corporate people, 80% for our restaurant managers, 80% for our certified swings, 70% for our execs pretty >> so the people who earn the least, you pick up the least of their premiums? >> i am saying that when we have comprehensive options -- the first promotion a person gets at mcdonald's is a former supervisor. you get a 70% subsidy -- >> i get a pretty you are telling me with a straight face that an hourly employee could afford the same level of co

mr. president, i would ask unanimous consent that the rockefeller-hutchison substitute amendment which is at the desk be agreed to, the bill as amended be read a third time, that a budget paygo statement be read. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. bingaman: i would also -- would the clerk -- the presiding officer: the statement will be read. the clerk: this is a statement of budgetary effects of paygo legislation for h.r. 5116, as amended. total budgetary effects of h.r. 5116 for the five-year statutory paygo scorecard zero dollars. total budgetary effects of h.r. 5116 -- mr. bingaman: i would ask that the reading of it be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. bingaman: i would ask that the bill be passed, the motions to rebe laid upon the -- consider be laid upon the table, any statements to the bill be placed in the record at the appropriate place as if read. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. bingaman: i join my -- my colleague from tennessee in thanking the senator from arizona for his courtesy and ask that this activity not interrupt his

mrs. hagan: i ask unanimous consent the committee-reported substitute amendment be considered, that a rockefeller-hutchison managers amendment, which is at the dervetion be agreed to, the committee substitute amendment, as amend, be agreed to, the bill, as amended, be read a third time and passed, the the motion to reconsider be laid on the table, with no intervening action or debate, and any statements related to the bill be placed in the record at the appropriate place as if read. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. hagan: mr. president, i understand that there are two bills at the desk and i ask for their first reading en bloc. the presiding officer: the clerk the read the titles for the fiemplets cleric a bill to provide collective bargaining rights for public safety officers employed by states or their political subdivisions. s. 3992, a bill to authorize athe cancellation of removal and adjustment of status of certain alien students who are long-term united states residents and who entered the united states as children and for other purposes. mrs. hagan: now ask for a second reading en bloc

mr. president, i would ask unanimous consent that the rockefeller-hutchison substitute amendment which is at the desk be agreed to, the bill as amended be read a third time, that a budget paygo statement be read. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. bingaman: i would also -- would the clerk -- the presiding officer: the statement will be read. the clerk: this is a statement of budgetary effects of paygo legislation for h.r. 5116, as amended. total budgetary effects of h.r. 5116 for the five-year statutory paygo scorecard zero dollars. total budgetary effects of h.r. 5116 -- mr. bingaman: i would ask that the reading of it be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. bingaman: i would ask that the bill be passed, the motions to rebe laid upon the -- consider be laid upon the table, any statements to the bill be placed in the record at the appropriate place as if read. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. bingaman: i join my -- my colleague from tennessee in thanking the senator from arizona for his courtesy and ask that this activity not interrupt his