ms. murkowski: mr. president, i want to start my comments by acknowledging my colleague from maryland and accept her gracious offer to continue to work on this issue as it relates to women's health and women's health services. as has been noted by the senator from maryland and the senator from washington, this is an issue that we women of the senate have come together repeatedly to work cooperative cooperatively, and while we do have some would say dueling amendments here, i think it is important to recognize that the goals that we are both seeking to attain here are certainly right in alignment. we're just choosing different means to get there. but i appreciate again the civility and the cooperation from not only senator mikulski but the other women of the senate on this very important issue. mr. president, i'd like to reiterate a couple points about the amendment -- my amendment that i made yesterday. the presiding officer: the senator from maryland. ms. mikulski: mr. president, i fear that the gentle

ms. murkowski: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from alaska. ms. murkowski: very articulate comments from my friend from florida. we recognize his time here has been very, very short. in terms of an individual jumping in with both feet kpwraeugs the challenge we have in -- embracing the challenge we have in front of us and representing the constituents in florida that he has deserves public distinction and i thank you for your leadership. we had occasion to talk about the similarities between alaska and florida, and you might not think of there being much in relationship there, me being in the north in the cold versus the sunny south in florida. but when it comes to our senior populations, this is where we have a truly a shared interest. florida is probably the largest number of seniors per capita. and in my state of alaska, we are the state that has the fastest-growing population of seniors per capita. one might not think of alaska as being a retirement haven, but more and more we are becoming so. and we share the same problems when it comes to acc

ms. murkowski: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from alaska is recognized. ms. murkowski: thank you, mr. president. i ask unanimous consent that i be permitted to engage in a colloquy with my republican colleagues o on an amendment tht i will be discussing. the presiding officer: without objection. it is so ordered. ms. murkowski: thank you, mr. president. a great deal of discussion certainly this week and last with the announcement from the united states preventive services task force, the uspstf, the recommendations as they relate to mammograms, and the recommendation that women under the age of 50 do not need to be screened until they reach age 50 and then on attaining the age of 50, every other year after that. when these recommendations came out on the 16th of november, i think it is fair to say that they generated a level of controversy, a level of discussion, and really a level of confusion around the country by women from all walks of life. i think for many, many years now women have operated under what we knew to be the standards, the protocols. if you h

ms. murkowski: let me try it here. ms. mikulski: that's so much better. i want to hear the amendment and continue our conversation. ms. murkowski: and you just missed all the kind remarks that i addressed to your attention. ms. mikulski: could i ask unanimous consent that she be extended for two additional minutes. no, no, i draw. thank you. ms. murkowski: i'll make sure that the comments that were made in the record are delivered to you personally, senator mikulski. but i want to reiterate a couple of points i made yesterday about my amendment and to also share with my colleagues, and i know that the senator from texas mentioned it as well, the c.b.o. score that we received yesterday -- actually late last evening. it provides us with a score it provides us with a score actually late last evening provided us with a score showing a cost savings of $1.4 billion over the next ten years and i think that this is significant, as members certainly from the other side have raised the importance of fiscal discipline and our financial fiduciary responsibility there

ms. murkowski. the senate will be in order, please. will the senators please take their conversations out of the well. who yields time? the senator from maryland. ms. mikulski: mr. president, the senate is not in order. the presiding officer: will the senators please take your conversations out of the well? senators, thank you. ms. mikulski: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from maryland. ms. mikulski: mr. president, i rise in opposition of the lisa murkowski amendment. although well intentioned, it does not guarantee universal access to preventative and screening services for women. it does not remove the cost barriers of high payments and codeductibles. it is -- co-deductibles. it is opposed by the american cancer society and the american heart association. it primarily provides information on those matters. we salute her intention, but we think that her amendment is too limited, and really to quote the american heart association, that it would be an actual step backward in the area of making preventative services ava

ms. murkowski: thank you, mr. president. appreciate the good senator fr from -- from pennsylvania and his discussion and his very constant focus on children, children's health and just want to commend him for his -- his good work in always reminding us of the importance of our children in so many aspects of our policies. so thank you for that. mr. president, i, too, rise this afternoon to talk about the -- the debate on health care and the debate that we seem to -- to have ongoing with the numbers. and whether it's numbers that are coming out from the congressional budget office, c.b.o., or for -- from our states or from other noteworthy entities, there's a great deal of back and forth as to whose numbers are right, whose numbers are wrong. well, a great deal of discussion in the past day or so about the numbers that we have received and the analysis that we have received from the office of the actuary, from c.m.s., the center for medicare and medicaid services. the chief actuary is mr. richard foster. and a good deal of dis

ms. murkowski: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from alaska. ms. urkowski: how much time is remaining on our side? the presiding officer: ten minutes. mrs. ms. murkowski: i rise to speak on the defense appropriations bill. i appreciate all the hard work that goes into the formulation of this bill and i commend the appropriations committee, senator inouye and senator cochran on a very fine product. it's a product that does justice to the men and women who wear the uniform of our country in defense of peace and liberty, and it's a product that does right by our military families who we must never forget also serve. i just want to recognize this morning, share some comments about what this bill means for the fighting men and women in my state of alaska. alaska's home to about 21,000 men and women who serve on active duty. add to that number approximately 4,700 members of the national guard and the reserves. the bill that is before us supports the soldiers of fort richardson, fort wayne write, -- waynewright, clear air force station, and 18 radar sites

ms. murkowski: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from alaska. ms. murkowski: i know that the senate is primarily focused on health care. i have come to the floor to speak on another important topic, than is climate change. i would like to speak of an action by the environmental protection agency and the consequence it's could entail with our economy. i'd like to start by reminding my colleagues that i committed to a careful evaluation of all of the options to address climate change in order to develop an approach that will benefit both our environment and our economy. over time it is becoming increasingly apparent that some approaches are better than others. and while we have not yet found that right approach, yet, we have certainly identified the wrong approach. e.p.a. regulation of greenhouse gases under the clean air act. i believe that this option should be taken off the table so that we can focus our attention on more viable policies. my concerns about this led me to introduce an amendment in september that would have limited e.p.a.'s ability to

ms. murkowski: mr. president, i want to start my comments by acknowledging my colleague from maryland and accept her gracious offer to continue to work on this issue as it relates to women's health and women's health services. as has been noted by the senator from maryland and the senator from washington, this is an issue that we women of the senate have come together repeatedly to work cooperative cooperatively, and while we do have some would say dueling amendments here, i think it is important to recognize that the goals that we are both seeking to attain here are certainly right in alignment. we're just choosing different means to get there. but i appreciate again the civility and the cooperation from not only senator mikulski but the other women of the senate on this very important issue. mr. president, i'd like to reiterate a couple points about the amendment -- my amendment that i made yesterday. the presiding officer: the senator from maryland. ms. mikulski: mr. president, i fear that the gentle