mrs. kennedy. a member of the kennedy library foundation board of directors, a dear friend, colleague, and soon to be next door neighbor. [applause] >> thank you very much. it is mentioned in the book -- the tom mentioned that the book is on sale at the bookstore? senator kennedy wrote about his mother having him at st. margaret's hospital, just up the street. it is a very important institution. a couple hundred yards from here, the bethlehem community health centers -- it was the first in the country, and senator kennedy was a major force in creating it and all the other health centers. we will be beside the john f. kennedy library where senator kennedy wanted to be. an important part of the university of massachusetts at

mrs. kennedy. a member of the kennedy library foundation board of directors, a dear friend, colleague, and soon to be next door neighbor. [applause] >> thank you very much. did tom mentioned that the book is on sale at the bookstore? senator kennedy wrote about his mother having him at st. margaret's hospital, just up the street. it is a very important institution. a couple hundred yards from here, the bethlehem community health centers -- it was the first in the country, and senator kennedy was a major force in creating it and all the other health centers. we will be beside the john f. kennedy library where senator kennedy wanted to be. an important part of the university of massachusetts at boston, senator kennedy said if you want to see the future of massachusetts, you go into u- mass boston. we are proud to be part of, never to, brother of the kennedy library in boston. there are three things the senator brought to the table every day. he was the best prepared in the room. he did his homework. h

mrs. kennedy. soon to be next door neighbor. [applause] >> thank you very much. it is mentioned in the book -- the tom mentioned that the book is on sale at the bookstore? senator kennedy wrote about his mother having him at st. margaret's hospital, just up the street. it is a very important institution. a couple hundred yards from here, the bethlehem community health centers -- it was the first in the country, and senator kennedy was a major force in creating it and all the other health centers. we will be beside the john f. kennedy library where senator kennedy wanted to be. an important part of the university of massachusetts at boston, senator kennedy said if you want to see

mrs. kennedy think would be senator kennedy's position on president obama's announcement of a troop surgen afghanistan. >> we're in bad territory here. it's like when abraham lincoln's daughter announced if her grandfather were alive she'd be sure he'd be a taft republican. hard to say. >> doris, do you want to take a stab at that? >> no. [laughter] >> e.j.? >> what about where fools fear to tread? >> there's no way you'll be wrong. >> i think there are three crick camps on this. there are the hawks, which he wouldn't have been, because they wanted to commit to troops. and then there's a group where -- i ran into several different democrats whose reaction was, god, i hope he's right, who were very uneasy about this choice, but think he may have had no better choice. i think kennedy might be suspended somewhere between the dove and the god, i hope he's right camp. >> i don't think so >> you think he would have disagreed with it? >> i think he would have asked the president of the united states, do you really think afghanistan is going to look any different three or five years from now than

mrs. kennedy think would be senator kennedy's position on president obama's announcement of the trip surgein afghanistan? >> we are in bad territory here. it is like when abraham lincoln's granddaughter announced in 1952 that if grandfather were alive that he would be a republican. >> do you want to take a stab at that? >> unclogging no. [laughter] -- >> i no. >> i think there are three democratic camps. the hawks who were for committing the troops. there are very staunch those who are against it. i ran into several different democrats and his reaction was, god i hope he is right who are very uneasy about his choice but think he may have had no better choice. i think kennedy might be suspended somewhere between the "dove" and the "i hope he's right." >> i think he would ever ask the president, do you really think that afghanistan is going to look for any different three or five years from now that it does right now? [applause] we have one last question that i do not think any of us can answer. senator kennedy's dogs,/and sunny, -- splash and sunny, we miss them. how are they doing? >> we h

mrs. kennedy think would be senator kennedy's position on president obama's announcement of a troop surgen afghanistan. >> we're in bad territory here. it's like when abraham lincoln's daughter announced if her grandfather were alive she'd be sure he'd be a taft republican. hard to say. >> doris, do you want to take a stab at that? >> no. [laughter] >> e.j.? >> what about where fools fear to tread? >> there's no way you'll be wrong. >> i think there are three crick camps on this. there are the hawks, which he wouldn't have been, because they wanted to commit to troops. and then there's a group where -- i ran into several different democrats whose reaction was, god, i hope he's right, who were very uneasy about this choice, but think he may have had no better choice. i think kennedy might be suspended somewhere between the dove and the god, i hope he's right camp. >> i don't think so >> you think he would have disagreed with it? >> i think he would have asked the president of the united states, do you really think afghanistan is going to look any different three or five years from now than

mrs. kennedy think would be senator kennedy's position on president obama's announcement of a troop surge in afghanistan. >> we're in bad territory here. it's like when abraham lincoln's daughter announced if her grandfather were alive she'd be sure he'd be a taft republican. hard to say. >> doris, do you want to take a stab at that? >> no. [laughter] >> e.j.? >> what about where fools fear to tread? >> there's no way you'll be wrong. >> i think there are three crick camps on this. there are the hawks, which he wouldn't have been, because they wanted to commit to troops. and then there's a group where -- i ran into several different democrats whose reaction was, god, i hope he's right, who were very uneasy about this choice, but think he may have had no better choice. i think kennedy might be suspended somewhere between the dove and the god, i hope he's right camp. >> i don't think so >> you think he would have disagreed with it? >> i think he would have asked the president of the united states, do you really think afghanistan is going to look any different three or five years from now th

mrs. kennedy was not treated correctly in the process.t 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 that hope and expectation for the future has been in some way quashed by an unrelenting downturn in revenues in 48 of the 50 states and even on t

mrs. kennedy. member of the kennedy library foundation board of directors, a dear friend, colleague, and soon to be next door neighbor. [applause] >> thank you very much. it is mentioned in the book -- the tom mentioned that the book is on sale at the bookstore? senator kennedy wrote about his mother having him at st. margaret's hospital, just up the street. it is a very important institution. a couple hundred yards from here, the bethlehem community health centers -- it was the first in the country, and senator kennedy was a major force in creating it and all the other health centers. we will be beside the john f. kennedy library where senator kennedy wanted to be. an important part of the university of massachusetts at boston, senator kennedy said if you want to see the future of massachusetts, you go into u- mass boston. we are proud to be part of, never to, brother of the kennedy library in boston. there are three things the senator brought to the table every day. he was the best prepared in th

mrs. kennedy. a member of the kennedy library foundation board of directors, a dear friend, colleague, and soon to be next door neighbor. [applause] >> thank you very much. did tom mentioned that the book is on sale at the bookstore? senator kennedy wrote about his mother having him at st. margaret's hospital, just up the street. it is a very important institution. a couple hundred yards from here, the bethlehem community health centers -- it was the first in the country, and senator kennedy was a major force in creating it and all the other health centers. we will be beside the john f. kennedy library where senator kennedy wanted to be. an important part of the university of massachusetts at boston, senator kennedy said if you want to see the future of massachusetts, you go into u- mass boston. we are proud to be part of, never to, brother of the kennedy library in boston. there are three things the senator brought to the table every day. he was the best prepared in the room. he did his homework. h

mr. kennedy. hold up a brief and say there's stipulation number 59, if you want to make a point make it so we can all understand it. >> very well, your honor. >> in that stipulation, they said i've got a problem. i don't understand the point you're expressing in your questions. i want you to give me every opportunity to show me that there's disorderly argument going on in california but not in the other 32 states. and the stipulation is that the usda relies on -- >> well, you can see he was so wrapped up in the details that chief justice rehnquist became very annoyed and told him, you know, to stop it and then he kept going. back to stipulation 57. and it, unfortunately, it just kept going in that vein. he never really took on the first amendment argument that was very crucial to the case. and, in fact, he again got so impassioned about the fruit that he was -- that his clients grew that it became a real embarrassment. and we can play -- go to the third clip, not the second one, the third where he

that is what the chip bill said, and that was the hatch-kennedy bill. mrs. hutchison: i assume you do know what is in that bill. what about the federal employees health benefit plan? what does it say? mrs. hutchison: the reason i mentioned senator kennedy is because he was the leading liberal in the senate at the time and yet he agreed to that language. the federal employee health benefit package, the following language appears in the financial services and general government appropriations act for fiscal year 2009: section 613. no funds appropriated by this act shall be available to pay for an abortion or the administrative expenses in connection with any health plan under the federal employees health benefits program which provides any benefits or coverage for abortions. section 614. the provisions of section 613 shall not apply where the life of the mother would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term or the pregnancy is the result of an act of rape or incest. mrs. hutchison: isn't that the same as the language of the nelson-hatch-casey amendment?

kennedy bill or waxman. my guess is those are lengthy pieces of negotiations that take a period of time to get something that has bipartisan support. mr. hatch: well, that's right. one thing i appreciated very much about senator kennedy is as liberal as he was -- the leading liberal lion in the senate, in the whole congress, in my opinion -- was that he knew unless we could get together in a bipartisan way, we couldn't get the job done. and this involves one-sixth of the american economy. one-sixth. and we're just being told take it or leave it. that's what i call an arrogance of power. i don't want to be mean to my colleagues. i think many of them are very sincere. but it's an arrogance of power to not deal with the other side and to not even talk to us about it until after you've done what you want to do. i've got to say this is the worst i've seen it in the whole 33 years i've been in the senate. mr. brownback: if i could ask one more question before my colleague leaves, and also comment that i like your tie. nice bright colors on a saturday session. mr. hatch: it's a western tie. i thought i'd wear it out of loudness today. mr. br

ted kennedy knew real reform when he saw it, and so do i. mr. president, here are the real health care reform measures of this senate bill, many of which senator kennedy himself helped to craft. think about this. it will save money and save lives, expand coverage and bring over 30 million uninsured americans into the community of the uninsured. it will control costs and lower premiums, stimulate competitive choices so consumers can choose the best policy at the most affordable price, relieve the costly health care burden on the small businesses of america through tax credits, provide a discount to countless seniors like my own sister maude who was squeezed by the cost of prescription drugs under medicare d's so-called doughnut hole. the real reforms in this bill will strengthen medicare and medicaid, reduce the deficit by hundreds of billions of dollars, attack waste, fraud, and abuses, eliminate lifetime limits on needed care, reward wellness and preventative practices, increase transparency and insurance company accountability, promote flexibil

mr. president, i'm going to turn that around. profiles in courage by jack kennedy and also ted kennedy were senators who worked to try to find resolutions to agreements. they wanted to compromise, they wanted to work together to get just results. and i ask the senators: where is the senator on that side of the aisle who's got the courage to break from their leadership, break from the partisanship they're exercising on the other side of the aisle to work together to pass health care reform? i ask them: where is the -- where is the -- where is the courage? where are the senators who've got courage on that side of the aisle to stand up and work together on a bipartisan basis to get health care reform passed? where? we on this side reached out our hands for bipartisan agreement on health care reform probably to a fault -- probably to a fault. and i say "fault," because for months and months and months, this senator anyway extended the hand to work with other senators in a bipartisan basis -- on a bipartisan biases. i know the current occupant of the chair knows this. h

when they went into couldn't find a driver and bobby kennedy said call mr. greyhound, see if he can drive the bus. because they couldn't get a driver to drive from montgomery to -- i'm sorry, from montgomery to birmingham. when the bus pulled in as you already heard the streets were clear. it was like midnight in the daytime. wasn't anybody on the streets. but the whites of the community were behind buildings with their change and crates and whatever you put in your hand to baseball bats and they had their kids with them. john lewis said that's really something. it surprised him they had their kids with them because i guess they wanted their kids what they were going to do and what was going on. the reporters got off the bus first. and the reporters were the first ones that people attacked because they had the cameras and a single lens reflex and tv cameras and they didn't want this on tv sunday attacked reporters first. and this gave the riders the chance to get their wits and see what was going on. some of the riders ran. there was a 15-foot drop from the

that is what the chip bill said, and that was the hatch-kennedy bill. mrs.chison: i assume you do know what is in that bill. what about the federal employees health benefit plan? what does it say? mrs. hutchison: the reason i mentioned senator kennedy is because he was the leading liberal in the senate at the time and yet he agreed to that language. the federal employee health benefit package, the following language appears in the financial services and general government appropriations act for fiscal year 2009: section 613. no funds appropriated by this act shall be available to pay for an abortion or the administrative expenses in connection with any health plan under the federal employees health benefits program which provides any benefits or coverage for abortions. section 614. the provisions of section 613 shall not apply where the life of the mother would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term or the pregnancy is the result of an act of rape or incest. mrs. hutchison: isn't that the same as the language of the nelson-hatch-casey amendment? mr.

mr. dreier: let me say quickly that under john f. kennedy it's true we saw 70% marginal rate dramatically reduced. we are not asking for a halving of marginal rates. the $300 billion in tax cuts have not been focused on job creators, which is exactly what president kennedy did then. i also want to say, madam speaker, i recognize very well, i recognize very well that if you look at the provisions that have been put into place within the past year, we have not been focused on that private sector job creation, that president kennedy and president reagan said. i thank my friend for yielding. mr. perlmutter: i would disagree with my friend by saying first of all we provided tax credits for first time home buyers to stimulate home construction and home sales. we provided tax credits, net operating loss, carrybacks, and carry fords for businesses. we provide -- carry forwards for businesses. there were many tax credits that go to stimulate the economy and create jobs. mr. dreier: if the gentleman woo further yield. let me say the examples i used, t

kennedy said, 40 years ago. all we need is the will. this is our time, mr. president. let us pass this legislation now. i ask unanimous consent that the speech delivered by senator edward m. kennedy on december 16, 1969, be entered into the record. the presiding officer: without objection, it is so ordered. mr. kirk: thank you, mr. president. and i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from massachusetts is recognized. mr. kirk: may i ask that the time reserved be divided equally between the majority and the minority and i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: without objection, it is so ordered. the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: mr. johnson: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from south dakota is recognized. mr. johnson: i rise to express my support -- the presiding officer: the senate is in a quorum call. mr. johnson: i move that the quorum call be rescinded. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. johnson: i rise to express my support for the patient protection and affordable care act and to encourage

mr. president, i'm going to turn that around. profiles in courage by jack kennedy and also ted kennedy were senators who worked to try to find resolutions to agreements. they wanted to compromise, they wanted to work together to get just results. and i ask the senators: where is the senator on that side of the aisle who's got the courage to break from their leadership, break from the partisanship they're exercising on the other side of the aisle to work together to pass health care reform? i ask them: where is the -- where is the -- where is the courage? where are the senators who've got courage on that side of the aisle to stand up and work together on a bipartisan basis to get health care reform passed? where? we on this side reached out our hands for bipartisan agreement on health care reform probably to a fault -- probably to a fault. and i say "fault," because for months and months and months, this senator anyway extended the hand to work with other senators in a bipartisan basis -- on a bipartisan biases. i know the current occupant of the chair knows this. h

mr. president, i'd ask consent that the 275 organizations that strongly endorse and support senator kennedy's class act be included in the record at this juncture. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. dodd: and i yield the floor. mr. harkin: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. harkin: mr. president, i want to thank my friend and our leader on this issue, senator dodd, for his eloquence in supporting what so many of our elderly in this country want more desperately than just about anything else and that's the peace of mind of knowing that if they should become disabled, that they won't be forced to go into a nursing home, that they'll have some support that they'll be able to live in their homes and in their communities. talk to anyone with a disability, not just elderly, anyone with a disability. and they'll tell you how important it is that they have that kind of assurance, that if, god forbid, that they become disabled, that their only hope is to go into a nursing home for the rest of their natural lives. senator kennedy has worked on this for years, an

mr. boysen and vice president gore. he was going to persuade anyone, he had to focus his attention on kennedy and o'connor.e? there was only one response, and that wasÑi yes, justice, let's start there at and discuss that. what essentially happened is that the five boats that ultimately decided this case, though i would prefer not to say decided the election, that was the carry over from what the four numbers resulted in, ultimately it came down to justice kennedy, justice o'connor, can and then the three much more conservative members of the court, chief justice rehnquist, justice scalia, and justice thomas issuing an unsigned opinion for the court. the author ship later became evident that it was kennqy's. it was only because kennedy and o'connor were comfortable with the equal protection aspects, that is, is every boat being counted like every other boatÑi- is every vote counted like every other vote. those of us who scrambled out in front of the court afterwards thought it was a 7-2 vote. did come down to a real question on how the ballots were being counted. there was a very short exchange between ted

kennedy. [applause] >> thank you and good evening, mr. lancaster and members and friends of the supreme court historical society. thank you very much for the work that you do, ralph, and that all of you do for the supreme court historical society. one of the fascinating aspects of a great institution is that you learn over time the place that you have it in. it's not apparent to you at the outset. and the historical society is of immense importance in part because it reminds the justices of what they must learn in order to understand their role. your work is very, very important. sometimes people ask me, are you nervous before you go on the bench? and the answer is, no. [laughter] sometimes those of you who teach, drew and ken starr, will hear teachers tell students, well, you know, it's harder -- just as hard to give the exam as it is to take it. you know, don't believe that. [laughter] and it's the same way about arguing in cases. but my colleague, justice breyer, not long ago made the comment that although he agreed with me that we don

mr. durso? >> i do want to echo what has been said before and point out we are entrepreneurs also, and we really need perhaps the power of persuasion and pressure of this committee and like kennedy'sressure on individuals like mr. seibel. if you look what's happening. you can't traversed on their index page and see stream after stream after stream of professionally produced, high-quality espn and other products and not say there's something wrong here in order to be addressed. we are doing what we can but professor yoo you describe how difficult a process that is, and a real-world example. we've made the decision eight years ago to launch d'aspin 360 .com. it is a tremendous service and application to support the growth and development of broadband. today it has 3500 eve ensler year. it's a terrific product. we have a business model in which the isp paid a fee and distributed and today i said it is more than 50 homes and providing a lot more product to people. now today if i were contemplating launching that surface i might look around and say this is crazy. there's not an environment this can take hold. we started seven years ago investing tens of millions of the worst to produce

if we don't, they will have the same memories 31 years from now as senator kennedy prophesied 31 years ago. mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican is recognized. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, the american people have now seen what democrats in congress plan to do with seniors' health care. they've looked on in total disbelief as the majority voted again and again and again to slash medicare by nearly half a trillion dollars. inhincredibly, these cuts repret just part of the pain caused by this bill. in addition to punishing seniors, it would punish businesses. at a time when one out of ten working americans is looking for a job, this bill would hit employers are job-killing new taxes and mandates. and it wouldn't do anything to lower long-term health care costs. this is the latest thing business owners expect -- this is the very last thing business owners expected from this bill. it's the last thing america needs in the midst of a recession. and it's just one of the reasons more and more business groups are stepping forward and speaking out against this job-killing

kennedy. . the debt deal labor leader fielded questions. the former -- the deputy labour leader fielded questions. she also took questions on the british economy and foreign policiey issues. >> questions to the prime minister. >> mr. speaker, i have been asked to reply. i am sure the whole house will join me in sending out profound condolences to the family and friends of the two soldiers from the third of volume rifles to die in afghanistan yesterday. we send out the deepest sympathies to their families. this christmas will all be thinking of the bravery and dedication of our armed forces overseas and especially at this time of year. overseas and especially at this time of year, the families who support them. my right honorable friend the prime minister is in copenhagen. this morning he met the u.n. secretary-general. this afternoon he will address the assembly. >> the whole house will endorse what the right honorable lady has said about these fallen soldiers and our thoughts will be very much with their families. but may i turn to the home front and other families who will be desperately worried that their own loved ones might not be home for christmas because of the cabin crew british airways strike. whilst it

mr. casey: i would like to thank senator harkin, who is a member of the health, education, labor and pension committee, taking over for senator kennedy. i know he feels an obligation not only to get the health bill passed, but feels an obligation to the american people, as i think most people do in this chamber when it comes to health care. in particular, i wanted to commend senator harkin for his great support for this legislation over a long period of time. and, in particular, for the last act. one of the best moments in our deliberations this summer was when senator harkin told a story about a relative of his. and in a few minutes, if he would tell that story, it brought home to me how important this program is and how it relates to the american people and what they don't have now especially those americans with -- with disability conviction. when i step back -- disabilities. when i step back and look at this program, a couple of things come to mind. a couple of themes, really one is the word dignity. the dignity of work. so many americans by -- by one estimate five million americans under the age of 65 -- under age 65 are living

mr. president, we thank you for your presence and for your words of appreciation for the life and work of senator kennedyher here today to pray for a man who has been such an important part of our history and our country. we are here because ted kennedy shared our belief in prayer and the eternal life. vicki, you and the family, surrounded ted with love at the end of his life and gave us all an example of love and compassion in the face of suffering and death. we die with dignity when we are surrounded by love and such care. and now let us, and ted's soul to god posset loving mercy. before we go our separate ways, let us take leave of our brother. they our farewell to express our affection for him. they it eased our sadness and strengthen our hope. one day we shall joyfully greet him again when the love of christ, which converts all things, destroys even death itself. [speaking in latin] >> it into your hands, father of mercies, we commend our brother edward, in the short and certain hope that together with all who have died in christ we shall rise with him on the last day. if we give you thanks for the

kennedy would be saying the same thing if he were here today. and i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from wyoming. mr. enzi: the senator from nevada. the presiding officer: the senator from nevada. mr. ensign: mr. president -- madam president, excuse me. it's a football day. i apologize. probably had that kind of male thinking going on. madam president, there's an urban myth that people like to talk about when they're discussing health care reform. it's like one of those rumors that runs rampant on the internet. nobody knows where it started but you're sure it must be true. the story about canadian health care. you know, everyone there is covered and they have a progressive health care system that we should somehow copy. well, it's time to bust this myth and tell the american people what a government-run health care system like canada would mean for us here in the united states. canada and great brit i object offer what is typically referred to as universal coverage. universal coverage, however, does not mean unlimited access to care or readily available care. let me tell you why. let's talk about spe

mr. president, at one of the most significant moments in the history of the united states senate, one of the most significant. our former chairman, senator ted kennedy, who fought all his life for national health insurance, who years ago, back in the 1960's said that health care ought to be a right, not a privilege, said that over 40 years ago, almost 50 years ago, that health care should be a right and not a privilege. it was always his highest priority. it was his great dream of an america where quality, affordable health care is that right. he thought of it as a moral imperative. a more imperative. a lot of times we lose that. we hear all this debate about how much this and this and who's going to lose this and all these scare tactics. we see all these numbers and all that kind of stuff. we forget the essence of it. it is a moral imperative. we are called upon to right a great injustice, a great wrong that's been put upon the american people for far too long. it is a moral imperative that confronts us now, that we will vote on in a half an hour. we are closer than we've ever been to making ted kennedy's dream a reality. a lot of people have worke

mr. president, we thank you for your presence and for your words of appreciation for the life and work of senator kennedyo pray for a man who has been such an important part of our history and our country. we are here because ted kennedy shared our belief in prayer and the eternal life. vicki, you and the family, surrounded ted with love at the end of his life and gave us all an example of love and compassion in the face of suffering and death. we die with dignity when we are surrounded by love and such care. and now let us, and ted's soul to god posset loving mercy. before we go our separate ways, let us take leave of our brother. they our farewell to express our affection for him. they it eased our sadness and strengthen our hope. one day we shall joyfully greet him again when the love of christ, which converts all things, destroys even death itself. [speaking in latin] >> it into your hands, father of mercies, we commend our brother edward, in the short and certain hope that together with all who have died in christ we shall rise with him on the last day. if we give you thanks for the blessings which

mr. boysen and vice president gore. he was going to persuade anyone, he had to focus his attention on kennedy and o'connor. justice kennedy said can we start here? there was only one response, and that wasÑi yes, justice, let's start there at and discuss that. what essentially happened is that the five boats that ultimately decided this case, though i would prefer not to say decided the election, that was the carry over from what the four numbers resulted in, ultimately it came down to justice kennedy, justice o'connor, can and then the three much more conservative members of the court, chief justice rehnquist, justice scalia, and justice thomas issuing an unsigned opinion for the court. the author ship later became evident that it was kennqy's. it was only because kennedy and o'connor were comfortable with the equal protection aspects, that is, is every boat being counted like every other boatÑi- is every vote counted like every other vote. those of us who scrambled out in front of the court afterwards thought it was a 7-2 vote. did come down to a real question on how the ballots were being counted. there

mr. durbin: i thank the senator from arizona, and i commend him for his work on the patients' bill of rights, which i joined him in with senator kennedy and would do it again. the point i was making -- mr. mccain: you just said no republican had done anything to curb the health insurance industry. the patients' bill of rights certainly would have done that. mr. durbin: my point was that there are provisions in this bill dealing with the rights of consumers against health insurance companies which i have not heard the senator or others -- mr. mccain: that's not what you said. mr. durbin: i would just ask you: do you support the health insurance reforms in this bill that give patients the right to -- against health insurance companies on preexisting conditions, for example? mr. mccain: my record is very clear advocating for patients and against the abuses of insurance companies across the board. mr. durbin: we thank you for that. mr. mccain: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent to yield to the senator from oklahoma to describe the patients choice act and the way we could truly save money in -- and reduce fraud, abuse, and waste in the

mr. majority leader, and distinguished colleagues in congress from both parties. ladies and gentlemen and members of the brooke family. our colleague ted kennedyhistory. he was part of history throughout his life. he made history and he knew history. it was his respect for ed brooke that led him to champion this congressional gold medal. we're so delighted that the kennedy is here today and his great friend, my colleague in the senate, paul kirk is here with us to celebrate this moment. in one of this first sermons, martin luther king jr. observed, "the thing we need in the world today is a group of men and women who will stand up for right and the opposed to wrong wherever it is, a group of people who've come to see that some things are wrong whether there never caught up with and some things are right weather nobody sees you doing them or not." before his mission was cut short 14 years later, dr. king met countless men and women who he enlisted in the cause. but one who became his confidante was edward brooke, whose journey we honor today. like so many of us, ed was moved by the actions of dr. king. there were also times when dr. king was mo

mr. majority leader, and distinguished colleagues in congress from both parties. ladies and gentlemen and members of the brooke family. our colleague ted kennedyas part of history throughout his life. he made history and he knew history. it was his respect for ed brooke that led him to champion this congressional gold medal. we're so delighted that the kennedy is here today and his great friend, my colleague in the senate, paul kirk is here with us to celebrate this moment. in one of this first sermons, martin luther king jr. observed, "the thing we need in the world today is a group of men and women who will stand up for right and the opposed to wrong wherever it is, a group of people who've come to see that some things are wrong whether there never caught up with and some things are right weather nobody sees you doing them or not." before his mission was cut short 14 years later, dr. king met countless men and women who he enlisted in the cause. but one who became his confidante was edward brooke, whose journey we honor today. like so many of us, ed was moved by the actions of dr. king. there were also times when dr. king was moved by ed, es

kennedy. and we believe strongly that we needed to take insurance company bureaucrats out from the middle between doctors and patients. mr. president, that's in this bill. those kinds of reforms are in this bill. and one of only many things that are in this bill. but we've toughened it up so that if the insurance companies between now and when the new group insurance pool takes effect are raising their rates too high, spending too much on profit and administration, then taxpayers, rate payers will get a refund and we hope that will put pressure on them not to continue to raise rates or try to do what the credit card companies have done, before the bill takes effect, raise rates. so we put new protections in. other protections as well to make sure that the majority -- the vast majority of every dollar that a family puts into premiums actually goes for their medical care rather than for profits and administration. in total we have $430 billion in tax cuts to create affordability for families, for individuals to help them be able to afford to purchase health insurance. and with that, overall, this is a tax reduction, this b

other members are reminded of the kennedy rules opening statements may be submitted for the record. our women's is mark sullivan. mr. saladdin was sworn in as a 22nd director of the united states secret service on may 31st, 2006. mr. sullivan has been the recipient of numerous awards for superior performance throughout his 26 year tenure with secret service including the distinguished presidential rank award 2005. welcome, mr. sullivan to thank you for being here today. without objection the witnesses full statement will be inserted in the record. i now ask directors sullivan to summarize his statement for five minutes. >> thank you, chairman. good morning, chairman thompson, ranking member king and other distinguished members of the committee. the u.s. secret service is an organization that maintains deep pride and the brackett does on behalf of the nation. based on the high standards which the women of this agency hold themselves in the standards the nation expects i regret on tuesday, november 24th established protocols and procedures were not followed. allowing two individuals entry into the white house. the mo

mr. president, at one of the most significant moments in the history of the united states senate, one of the most significant. our former chairman, senator ted kennedyt all his life for national health insurance, who years ago, back in the 1960's said that health care ought to be a right, not a privilege, said that over 40 years ago, almost 50 years ago, that health care should be a right and not a privilege. it was always his highest priority. it was his great dream of an america where quality, affordable health care is that right. he thought of it as a moral imperative. a more imperative. a lot of times we lose that. we hear all this debate about how much this and this and who's going to lose this and all these scare tactics. we see all these numbers and all that kind of stuff. we forget the essence of it. it is a moral imperative. we are called upon to right a great injustice, a great wrong that's been put upon the american people for far too long. it is a moral imperative that confronts us now, that we will vote on in a half an hour. we are closer than we've ever been to making ted kennedy's dream a reality. a lot of people have worked very hard

kennedy. and he set this nation on a course that was extraordinary. it is my belief that president obama will do that. with that optimistic note, thank you, mr. augustine. the hearing is adjourned. >> thank you, mr. chairman. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] >> several organizations have published their lists of the best books of the year. we are airing coverage of the award winners this week during prime time on c-span2 beginning at 8:00 p.m. eastern. our coverage tonight includes ron paul on his book in the fed and in fed we trust and linda gordon in her biography of dorothea lange. the lists are available at booktv.org in the news about books section. >> in a few moments a hearing on funding for autism research and live at 10:15 campaign management institute at american university looks at how to frame political issues. >> the nature of most human enterprise is to ask yourself in an introspective way by doing this the right way. >> auld this week a rare glimpse into america's highest court threw unprecedented on the record conversations with ten supreme court justices. tonight associate justices anthony kennedy and samue

mr. rangel: chairman obey, let me thank you for not just saying what we've got to do about jobs, but bringing this all together and doing something about it. one of our great president's, jack kennedy, once said that sometimes your party just asks too much of you. and i know that's what my republican friends must be feeling today because there is no question in my mind that they have just as much compassion in their heart for those jobless people as we do. they know as we do that those who have lost their homes, lost their dignity, and lost their job didn't do it by being democrats or being be republicans. and i recognize that when you go in a room and make a decision to say no, you kind of stuck with it. so we are not naive enough to believe that i can change your mind about what you already decided. but i do hope that when you go back to your home districts and you recognize what is happening to people who are jobless, many of whom are -- whom are hopeless, many of whom have lost their skills, and many and i hope soon it will not continue have lost what it's like to believe that in this great country there is no limit to how far that you can go. so maybe next year will be differe

that's not exactly what john kennedy, who was not only president of the united states but a war hero, who served in this very body, would call a "profile in courage." but, mr. president, i'm confident not a single one of our troops could care less whether the leaders who give them what they need to succeed are progressives or conservatives. i'm certain that these men and women on deployment after deployment spend more time counting the days until they see their loved ones again than they do counting the splil points scored by either side. -- the political points scored by either side. my vote in support of these soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen has nothing to do with the party with which i'm afilliated. and everything to do with the country for which i took an oath to support and defend. though it is shortly after midnight here in our nation's capital, it is late morning in the battlefields of iraq and afghanistan. when the sun rises over this city, this great city of washington, a few hours from now, you'll be able to see out those windows on the west side of this capitol and see past the great monuments of lincoln and washington and be able to see

standard staffing their 26 + 8 to trainees and kennedy has 37 full-time and 24 full-time and eight trainees. i think one of the questions i would like to review when mry doing in contemplation of the retirements and including the staffing levels right now? the other thing, mr. barimo, i do think $20,000 per year is acceptable for someone who has the responsibilities of the pilots? >> senator, what i would say is seniority is keying in the airline industry. what that means is salaries are negotiated between the union and the company and generally favors the more senior pilots. what we're talking about is a pay scale that store is fairly low and ends a fairly high. there are ways to level that out to have pilots coming in better less and pilates out the senior and earn a little less and there are ways to do that with a negotiated element of a pilot's life style. that is an issue that certainly has been at the forefront of many discussions but again, an element that is negotiated between the airline and the union. >> i know that. i do not mean to be impatient but this simple question is whether or not someone making $20,000 per year, but you can do with

mr. harkin: if the senator would yield again to me? two other things. i'm glad the senator mentioned connie garner who worked with senator kennedy for so many years on this, has her own personal story to tell regarding this very poignant story. and i want to thank connie for all of her wonderful work on this and kind of shepherding this through. she is probably sitting over there wishing that we had said this and that because we probably forgot something and she knows better than what we know, but we do our best, connie, we do our best, okay, with what we have anyway to try to explain this, but i thank connie for all of her great work and leadership and getting us to this point. i wonder if i might impose upon the senator, if i might not digress but talk about one other part of the picture here that we're talking about in terms of of -- of covering people with disabilities. so we have been talking about the class act which is prospective, it looks ahead, it provides the mechanism whereby middle-class families can plan for the future possibility of an illness or disability by putting this money away every month. we've talked about that. but one might ask

mr. president, as a senior member of the health, education, labor and pensions committee, and a cloture and -- close and dear friend of our departed colleague, senator ted kennedy who led this fight for so long, it would be my honor, a deep honor indeed, one of the highest honors i would have had in the 30 years i have served here to cast a vote in favor of this landmark legislation that has one of two senators whose job it is to look out for the people of my home state of connecticut, supporting this bill is nothing short of my duty. and i intend to fulfill it with great pride at 8:00 a.m. on christmas eve. what better gift could i give to my folks at home than to cast my vote as 1 of 100 in this body for health care reform in this nation. so long overdue, so long awaited for. and on this christmas eve, it will become an accomplished feat of the united states senate. and with that, mr. president, i yield the floor, note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. mr. dodd dodd: dodd: i rescind m call. mr. president, there were a number of other people that i wanted to mention. i didn't go through the entire list of all the sta

mr. rangel: chairman obey, let me thank you for not just saying what we've got to do about jobs, but bringing this all together and doing something about it. one of our great president's, jack kennedyonce said that sometimes your party just asks too much of you. and i know that's what my republican friends must be feeling today because there is no question in my mind that they have just as much compassion in their heart for those jobless people as we do. they know as we do that those who have lost their homes, lost their dignity, and lost their job didn't do it by being democrats or being be republicans. and i recognize that when you go in a room and make a decision to say no, you kind of stuck with it. so we are not naive enough to believe that i can change your mind about what you already decided. but i do hope that when you go back to your home districts and you recognize what is happening to people who are jobless, many of whom are -- whom are hopeless, many of whom have lost their skills, and many and i hope soon it will not continue have lost what it's like to believe that in this great country there is no limit to how far that you can go. so maybe next year will be different

mr. president, at one of the most significant moments in the history of the united states senate, one of the most significant. our former chairman, senator ted kennedy all his life for national health insurance, who years ago, back in the 1960's said that health care ought to be a right, not a privilege, said that over 40 years ago, almost 50 years ago, that health care should be a right and not a privilege. it was always his highest priority. it was his great dream of an america where quality, affordable health care is that right. he thought of it as a moral imperative. a more imperative. a lot of times we lose that. we hear all this debate about how much this and this and who's going to lose this and all these scare tactics. we see all these numbers and all that kind of stuff. we forget the essence of it. it is a moral imperative. we are called upon to right a great injustice, a great wrong that's been put upon the american people for far too long. it is a moral imperative that confronts us now, that we will vote on in a half an hour. we are closer than we've ever been to making ted kennedy's dream a reality. a lot of people have worked very hard

mr. sanders: there's another area where there is the semigovernment nonprofit, which the senator from illinois feels strongly about, that is the family qualified community health center, started by senator kennedy. we have 1,200 community health centers, and this is widely supported in a bipartisan or tri-partisan way, because the community health centers provide quality health care an dental care and prescription drugs an mental health counseling. i might say to my friend from illinois, that one of the provisions in the 2,000-page bill is legislation that you and i have worked hard on is to substantially expand the community health center program into every underserved area in america. we talk about 46 million people being uninsured in this country. we have 60 million people who don't have access to a doctor on a regular basis. and if we expand the community health care program and expand to a significant degree the national health service call so that we can help young people become primary health care physicians by paying off their very substantial medical debt, would my friend agree with me this is a major step forward in improving primary health care in america? mr. durbin: the senator fro