the clerk: the senator from nevada, mr. ensign, proposes an amendment number 9127 to amendment 2786. mr. ensign: i ask that further reading be dispinsed with. -- dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. the senate will be in order. mr. ensign: thank you, mr. president. the amendment that i'm offering today is an amendment on medical liability reform. the presiding officer: the senate will be in order, please. mr. ensign: i believe that meaningful medical liability reform should be included in any overall health care legislation that we do this year. i have a separate bill from this amendment, a complete comprehensive medical liability reform that i've introduced earlier known as s. 45. it's an effort -- in an effort, though, to find xri mierksz i'm offer -- compromise, i'm offering this amendment today. this amendment was originally offered by edward kennedy in 1995. while many of the members of the senate were not here in 1995, 21 members from the other side of the aisle who were the majority at the time s

the gentleman from nevada is recognized. mr. heller: thank you, madam speaker. i yield myself two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. heller: thank you, madam speaker. here we go again, christmas is a week away and congress is scrambling at the last minute just so that we can go home while americans are doing last-minute holiday shopping, the majority is doing its last-minute spending. this year americans are cutting back on their holiday shopping. the average holiday spending by americans this year has dropped to $343 per person from $372 a year ago. you would think that during these tough times and most americans are forced to tight their belts, congress would do the same. no chance under this majority. this majority stumbled into 2009 with a budget that raised the deficit by $1.8 trillion. then, congress decided to pass an $800 billion stimulus bill. $3 billion on cash for clunkers. $1.3 trillion on the trattic health care bill. $-- democratic health care bill. $1 trillion on cap

ken hansen wrote to me from mesquite, nevada, a town on the border of nevada and utah. he has problems and parts of his feet have been amputated. he can't go to the doctor because he makes too much to qualify for medicaid and too little to afford private insurance. i share with the senate exactly what ken wrote me." i'm very frustrated because it seems my only hope is that i die very soon. i can't afford to stay alive." end of quote. that's why this bill will expand medicaid to cover people like ken from mesquite, nevada. we're caught in the middle. i'm voting yes, because when someone tells me his only hope is to die, i think we have to take a close look at that. i can't look away. i cannot possibly do nothing. a man by the name of mike tracy lives in north las vegas, nevada. his 26-year-old son has been an insulin-dependent diabetic since he was a baby. the insurance mike's son gets through work won't cover his treatments and the tracys can't afford to buy insurance on their own. but their problems are about more than money. since they couldn't afford to treat his dia

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.

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 spending first. the u.s. spends about 16% of its gross domestic product on health care while canad

there have been no hearings on the amendment offered by the senator from nevada. had there been hearings, we would have been in the position to make a determination as to what are the real facts. are the fees collected by plaintiffs' attorneys on a contingent basis excessive? what is the reality for the justification in terms of the time it takes? and the expenses involved? but no request was made, to my knowledge, for a hearing before the judiciary committee which has jurisdiction. i do know that no hearing was held so that we do not have a factual basis for really making an evaluation of this amendment at this time. it is my hope, mr. president, that we will move from this amendment and take up the issues which are in dispute. we need to eliminate and reject the false rumors which have been advanced. the contention has been made that there would be death panels as a result of this bill. i think that has been thoroughly debunked. there has been a contention that there would be cuts in medicare. we argued an amendment a few days ago on the contention that there wo

the presiding officer: the senator from nevada is recognized. a senator: i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. mr. gregg: i ask fourth proceedings under the quorum be set aside. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mccain: mr. president, i am pleased to see my friends on the floor again today, very intelligent people like the senator from new hampshire and my friend, senator enzi, who is a expert on the issue, and the rest of us who just know that a fight that's not joined is a fight not enjoyed. so i look forward again to another spirited discussion with my colleagues. but maybe if i could just take up -- start with -- if i could just take up a point about the debate and discussion we had yesterday on the floor. would the senator from montana, the chairman of the committee -- with the senator from montana, it is chairman of the committee, where he asked me why did i think that certain groups supported the -- this legislation that's pending before the senate. and i said i didn't know wha

why are you doing that for nevada and new york? and some of the influential people around here from nevada and new york said, well, this economy is in a real downturn and we're being hit harder than anybody else. and i said, well, that's -- that's a nice gesture, but this bill -- this part of this bill isn't going to go into effect for four years. how do we know that in four years nevada and new york are the ones that are going to be hard hit? we ought to have some provisions for whoever is hard hit. but those are the kinds of things that we were trying to -- trying to take care of in committee with inadequate numbers. understand a as we worked through -- the president wanted to do a speech to the nation, a joint speech to the nation, the joint -- we do those over in the house building. the house and the senate show up for t and it was on health care. and following that health care meeting, the next morning we went to our gang of six meeting, and i had kept notes on what the president had said. and i had about 12 areas that we had

so to my good friend from nevada, the special deals in this bill are not special. they are the same old crap that we've been putting wup for decades -- putting up with for decades up here and people thought was going to come to an end. and it's going to hurt your children's ability to have half of what you've got because they can't make it because you're about to pass on a bill to them they can't pay. so what i hope will happen to my good friend, the senator from nevada, that people will take their government back. and if you think this deal from nebraska is unacceptable, speak up and speak out and let the house members know that you want it changed. mr. burr: i thank our colleague from south carolina. i know we're about to run out of time, but i wanted to go back to the chief actuary at medicare, because i think the way they analyzed the bill is absolutely essential for the american people to understand what's in it. the chief actuary, the president's actuary said the reid bill funds $930 billion in ne

i'll start with the nevada governor, jim gibbons. "under the reid plan, a mandatory expansion of the nevada medicaid program would add more than 41,000 people to the program's rolls in 2014. expanding nevada's medicaid enrollment by nearly 60% by 2019. overall, the reid plan will cost nevada taxpayers more than $613 million in state general fund dollars between 2014 and 2019. in addition to imposing this massive tax burden, the bill also removes existing state options essentially federalizing this program." end of quote from the governor of nevada. then a quote from north dakota's governor. "we along with the national governors' association urge extreme caution in moving forward with any plan that would commit the states without their expressed participation and consent to obligates that may financially bind them for decades into the future." end of quote. i'll close with two of my favorite governors' quotesment both of these are democrats. the governor of tennessee says this: "there won't be new prisons built during that period, the

the presiding officer: the senator from nevada. mr. ensign: mr. president, i ask the call of the quorum be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection, the call of the quorum is dispensed with. mr. ensign: mr. president, in a little while, i will be making a constitutional point of order against the substitute amendment and i won't make that because we're working out an agreement on when we can have that vote but i want to start talking about this -- the reason i believe that this bill is unconstitutional, the individual mandate in this bill, and i'm going to be speaking for about ten minutes now and then resume my remarks at 9:30, after -- after one of the democrats comes down and uses their 15 minutes. mr. president, this constitutional point of order, if it's rejected and the health care bill reform passes, i believe that the courts should reject it on constitutional grounds. some of my colleagues may not be aware of the finance committee's debate on the constitutionality of this health reform bill. during the committee

more than 13% in my home saith of -- home state of nevada. the full repeal of the tax would create 1.5 million jobs. again, that's jobs created. who knows how many jobs would be saved by eliminating the death tax. eliminating the death tax will also have several positive effects on the economy. one recent study showed that eliminating the death tax would increase small business capital by over $1.6 trillion. eliminating the death tax will increase the probability of hiring by 8.6%. eliminating the death tax will increase payrolls by 2.6%. eliminating the death tax will expand investment by 3%. mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman may proceed. mr. heller: thank you, mr. speaker. eliminating the death tax will create 1.7 million small business jobs and eliminating the death tax will reduce the current jobless rate by almost 1%. the american people know that the death tax punishes hard work by discouraging savings and investing. undermines job creation and frankly contradicts the essential promise of american life. they know the d

in this great country of ours, nevada has many different problems than in new hampshire.higan has many different problems than those georgia. we have wide range of different needs throughout regions of this country. some of those are health care delivery problems and others are because of the autumn, the situation. this legislation is no different than the defense bill with just pass. we spent $600 billion on this. it is no different than other pieces of legislation, small pieces of large pieces. we were to compromise. there are 100 senators hear it i don't know if there is a senator but does not have something in this bill that was important to if they do not have something in it important to them, then it does not speak well of them. that is what this legislation is all about, the art of compromise. >> talking about the grant program for education, there are roughly 14 states that would qualify, connecticut is one one. it is a grant determined by the secretary of human services. competitive if the states decide to compete, they will get them. this does not involve just

in this great country of ours, nevada has many different problems than does new hampshire. michigan has many different problems than does georgia. we have wide ranges of different needs throughout region of this country. some of those are basic health care delivery problems, others are because of the unemployment situation. so this legislation is no different than the defense bill we just spent. we spent $600 billion. it's no different than other pieces of legislation that are big large pieces and small pieces of legislation. we work to compromise. there is $100 senators here. and i don't know if there is a senator that doesn't have something in this bill that was important to them. if they don't have something in it important to them, then it's -- it doesn't speak well of them. that's what the legislation is all about. it's the art of compromise. >> just very briefly. talking about the grant program for con transaction. they are roughly 14 states that qualify for grant program. connecticut being one, along with -- i'm told -- 13 other states. it's a grant by the secretary

they work at aircraft spaces in nevada. the guys in afghanistan launch and recover drones and are responsible for small area operations, usually about air bases. these contractors are constantly looking drones from the air strip, and they pass them off to the guys in las vegas. they fly around a return to drown -- around and return at the control of the drone of two guys in canada are -- to guys in kandahar. they look for any activity. they took a plane and they took the pilot out of the cockpit and put the satellite dish in. the pilot will always control the aircraft. we did that because a regular person could not just sit up there in a small cramped space. no big need for a footprint. flexibility allows you to do that. >> they have video cameras and tv cameras and also have radar taking these snapshots. what you do is in the morning tape one snapshot. later you take one other, and you compare them. it d.c. a corner that looks disturb like somebody was chopping the ground up, he might have spotted a roadside bomb that they

me, it won't in nevada. i think maybe there's even a deal that affects them to some degree. but let me just say, is it fair? no. it's not fair. and the fact that it wasn't fair was called that's compromise. that's not compromise. we're here under an obligation to make this fair to all the american people, but in this case it's not. and, yeah, there are 31 million americans that are going to have health insurance, 15 million of which are delegated into medicaid, the most dysfunctional delivery system that exists in the health care delivery system. and, yes, there exists an unfunded mandate to states. because after five years, except for those who got these special deals, the states are going to be responsible for some portion, an average of 10%. let me tell what you the governor of building in income d early. "the absolute deal breaker for me as governor is a federal plan that shifts costs to the states." well, we're shifting costs to the states and she's nowhere to be found now. but the people in north carol

my good friend from nevada, the special deals in this deal are not special. they are the same old crap that we have been putting up for decades appear and people thought were going to come to an end. it is when to hurt your children's ability of thto have. i hope people will take their government back. if you think this deal from nebraska is unacceptable, speak up and speak out and let the house members kt exchange. first of all, there is a booklet that we put out by the government printing office that says how our laws are made and we give it out to our constituents. we send it out to schools all over america. i have never seen anything in that little book that says that you get behind closed doors and you cut deals. you get behind closed doors, particularly after your president said during the campaign -- and we are in little bit cynical about politics and campaign pragupromises. but the president said time and time again that we would have a big table with insurance companies and doctors and drug companies and they would have a seat on the table. there wil

the special deal for nevada was wrong. i said that. in fact one of the six reformed principles i publicly outlined and took out two town hall meetings, i stand by today. and it just simply said no special deals. the special deal for nevada was wrong as is the carveouts for louisiana and the same applies for the backroom deal that was struck for my state, the great state of nebraska. all of the special deals should be removed from this legislation. if this bill cannot pass without the carveouts, the special deals, what further evidence could we possibly need to draw the conclusion that this is just enormously bad policy? if you literally have to sit down in the last hours of negotiations and strike a special deal, do we need any other argument about how bad the policy of this bill is for my state and the citizen of nebraska? our governor said it well, nebraskans don't want a special deal. you see, i went around and stay for months doing town halls and listening to nebraskans. they don't want a special deal. no nebraska and came up to me

for what purpose does the gentlelady from nevada rise? ms. titus: to address the house for one minute. revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. titus: thank you, madam speaker. with unemployment at a record high in southern nevada, it's critical that we focus our efforts on creating good jobs that will put nevadans back to work. and that's why i'm proud to have recently joined the new congressional task force on job creation. this working group will collect innovative ideas and formulate legislation that will put people back to work across the country and get our economy moving again. this effort is especially critical to strengthening our economy in southern nevada. creating jobs locally will require innovation in nevada's growing industry such as renewable energy and perhaps a high-speed train. as well as building a stronger national economy that puts money back in the pockets of potential visitors who will come to nevada and boost our travel and tourism industry. i loo

one named lisa, who lives in nevada -- a city below the sierra nevada mountains.e with her two daughters, both an elementary school. the youngest suffers seizures and the teachers think she now has a learning disability. because of her family history, lisa, the girls mom, is in high risk of cervical cancer. although she is supposed to get exams every three months, she doesn't go. she is lucky she goes once a year and most time she is not lucky. when lisa lost a job she lost her health care coverage. now both lisa and her daughter missed the tests and preventive medicine that could keep them healthy. the letter ended with a simple plea -- we want to be able to go to a doctor. a direct quote from her. that is why this bill will ensure all americans can get the preventive tests and screaming they need. i'm voting, yes, mr. president because i believe lisa and her daughter deserve to be able to go to the doctor. . most kids grow out of their shoes. he does not. a lot of kids probably get a new pair a year, but he is needed a new pair of prosthetic legs every year sinc

the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from nevada is recognized for two minutes. ms. berkley: i thank you, mr. speaker. i thank the gentleman who is doing a remarkably good job in spite of the misinformation on the other side of moving this bill along. i rise in support of this legislation to extend expiring tax provisions. it is very important that congress pass this bill this year. allowing these provisions to expire would amount to a tax increase at a most challenging economic time in our -- for our nation's businesses and families. waiting to enact an extension retroactively would add to the already uncertain business climate and make tax planning all the more difficult for companies and individuals that depend on these tax credits. the bill extends necessary tax relief to parents and teachers, college students, homeowners, small businesses, and millions of other middle income families. this legislation is needed in my state for so many critical things. it ensures that nevada residents who do not pay a state income tax can continue to deduct sales and local state

the presiding officer: the senator from nevada. mr. ensign: madam president, i want to first compliment the senator from texas on her raising a different constitutional point of order. there are several problems where i believe that this bill goes against the constitution. i have raised a constitutional point of order where i believe that it violates the enumerated powers under article 1, section 8, of the constitution as well as under the fifth amendment takings clause of the constitution. i see the senior senator from utah is here. he is going to talk about several other places in the -- in this bill that is before us today where there are other places where it violates the constitution. this is a -- the constitution of the united states. it's actually, there are several other -- several other documents in here. but that's how small the constitution of the united states is. this small, little document that limits the powers of the federal government because our founders were afraid of a powerful central government. so they put down o

crapo: the senator from nevada is correct.the fact is the taxes start on day one of the bill. the spending, which is what these alleged tax cuts are, that my colleague from the other side was talking about doesn't start until the fourth year or 2014. that's juns of the budget gimmicks in the bill in order to try to claim that it doesn't drive up the budget. 10 years of tax increases and four years of spending to offset. it they figured out how long they would have to delay it so they could claim it would not drive up the deficit. mr. ensign: i want to address one of the taxes, the so-called cadillac tax, that the democrats have put into this bill. the problem is they did not index it for inflation. so as time goes forward, what we can see here under the red -- red line here, this is the threshold -- they index it for what's called the consumer price index plus 1%. that goes up a little bit. the problem is medical inflation is going up much faster. so what happens is this is the blue line is the average plan in the united state

reid of nevada, [laughter] mr. reid of nevada,aye. [laughter] mr rich, no. mr. roberts,no. mr.rockefeller,aye. mr. sanders, mr. schumer,aye. mr. sessions, mrs. shaheen, aye. mr. shelby, ms. snowe,no. mr. spector,aye. mr stabinow, aye. mr. tester,aye. mr thune, no. mr udall of colorado,aye. mr. udall of new mexico,aye. mr.vitter, no. mr.voinivich, no. mr. warner,aye. mr. webb,aye. mr. white house,aye. mr. wicker,no. mr. whiden, aye. mr. bennett of utah, no. this is a hutchinson,no. mr. cochran,no. mr. bennett of colorado,aye. [no audio] mr. sessions,no. [no audio] [no audio] [no audio] [applause] mr. sanders -- [laughter] >>yes? >> mr. sanders, aye. mr. shelby -- no. [no audio] [no audio] >> and the other senators wishing to go toward change their vote? the amendment is passed. [no audio] >> i had a restless night worrying about bipartisanship and i think i found a way tested. nowhere in history have we found a way to make health care more affordable than today. this is a victory for the american people, those fortunate enough to have health insurance will be able to keep theirs

a woman named lisa lives in gardnerville, nevada, a great place near the se sierra nevada mountain tainlshe lives with her two daughters, both in elementary school. the youngest suffers see diseurs. the teachers think she has a learning disability. because of her family history, lisa's mom is at a high risk for serving cal cancer. though she is supposed to get an exam every three months, now she is not able to get one at all. when lisa lost their job, she lost her health coverage. now both lisa and her daughter miss out on the tests for preventive medicine that should keep them healthy. her letter ended with a simple plea. it wasn't slow down, stop everything, start over. it was, we want to go to the doctor. that's a quote. "we want to go to the doctor." another person named brayden lives in sparks, nevada. sparks and reno are side by side. brayden works a 5-hou 5-hour weo support his family. just barely pays the bills. he had to go to the emergency room. $12,000. it's the only place he could go. he is a brave man, though, in his letter he doesn't dread the debt he carries. he is going to

the clerk: the senator from nevada, mr.reid, moves to concur in the house amendment to the senate amendment. we, the senators senators in accord abc with the rules 22 of the standing rules of the senate, move to bring to a close the debate on the house amendment to. r. 3326, the department of defense appropriations act for fiscal year 2010, signed by 17 senators as follows: inouye, reid of nevada, baucus, leahy, whitehouse, levin, murray, begich, cantwell, pryor, reed of rhode island, kaufman, franken, harkin, webb, kirk, and bennet of colorado. mr. reid: madam president, i move to concur on the house amendment with an amendment which is at the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from nevada, mr. reid, moves to concur in the house amendment to the senate amendment with amendment number 3248. at the end of the amendment, insert the following. mr. reid: i ask further reading of the amendment be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask for the yeas and nays. the p

steve is taking in the coverage from nevada. good evening. >> caller: how're you? >>host: what do you think? >> caller: i am definitely for it. i have been following it and especially after it listening to senator nelson from florida talking about the big insurance companies and the money that they made, and the preexisting ways that they have now, i am for it completely. >>host: thank you. california. you are on the air. >> caller: high. i am against this bill. i personally do not know what is the rush because of these people who were hoping to get the health care reform, those that need insurance, they will not even see it for four years. i am thinking what is the rash? give them another year to talk about it may be within a year's time they can come up with a plan that comes up with the amount of people that need health care. the number keeps changing. but those that are listening keeping their fingers crossed, i hope they realized they will not be getting insured for four years. and an apartment that bothers me is constantly attacking business is back of this w

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

but senator axle, very wonderful guy, good friend, from nevada was conservative, nevada only had three electoral votes. reagan was going to carry anyway so it wasn't like it added anything to the ticket. >> at this point you have any questions for the folks in the studio audience? [laughter] >> don't be shocked if you do. we have many questions. normally we would hand you a microphone but i am thinking because of our technical difficulty we might have you -- >> [inaudible] i want to hear what that is. >> can you repeat the question for her? >> henry kissinger was negotiating the treaty of detroit on the part of, on behalf gerald ford and kissinger was a pretty tough negotiator. of course he had negotiated the peace with honor, withdraw from vietnam and after the tough negotiations in the chocolate that day, one of the reagan aides says for the first time after dealing with kissinger all day for the first time in my life i felt sorry for the north vietnamese. [laughter] i know we had a few other hands with questions. yes, sir. i know this is a bit unusual, but when you ask your question

but he's from nevada. he was conservative. nevada only had three electoral votes.reagan was going to carry it anyway so it wasn't they added anything to the ticket. >> at this point do you have any questions from folks in our studio audience? don't be shy. okay. oh, we have many questions. [inaudible] >> normally we would hand you our microphone but because of our technical difficulties, we might have you -- [inaudible] >> can you go ahead and repeat the question for her? >> henry kissinger was negotiating the treaty of detroit on the part -- on behalf of gerald ford. and kissinger was a pretty tough negotiator. of course, he had negotiated the peace with honor, the withdrawal from vietnam. and after these tough negotiations in detroit that day, one of the reagan aides says is that -- is that, you know, for the first time, you know, after dealing with kissinger all day for the first time in my life i felt sorry for the north vietnamese. [laughter] >> yes, sir. >> i know this is a bit unusual but when you ask your question if you could come up to the front and ask u

crapo: the senator from nevada is correct. i'm thumbing through here trying to get the exact statistics. the c.b.o. indicated i think it was something like from an average number of $140 or so of extra benefits, it would go down, about half of that. they would get about half of those extra benefits. mr. ensign: that's per month. $140 per month, about half of those benefits would be cut under the new plan; is that correct? a senator: we have three republicans now saying this. you quoted official sources. mr. wicker: let me quote a democrat. representative michael mcmahon -- and i quote -- "medicare advantage which serves approximately 40% of my seniors on medicare would be cut dramatically." that's why that democrat from the state of new york voted "no" on the plan when it was before the house of representatives. so you don't have to take our word for it from a partisan standpoint. democrats are saying no because of the medicare cuts and the cuts to medicare advantage. drastically cut. mr. ensign: the senator from idaho and i,

ken hansen from mess quit, nevada wrote to me.rt problems and parts of his feet have been amputated. he can't go to the doctor because he can't afford private insurance and can't qualify for medicaid. i share with the senate exactly what ken wroted. i'm fraus straightened because my only hope is that idea soon. i can't afford to stay a live. end of quote. that's why this bill will expand to cover people like ken from nevada. caught in the middle. i'm voting yes because when someone tells me his only hope is to die. we have to take a close look at that. i can't look away. i cannot possibly do nothing. man by the name of mike tracy lives in north las vegas, nevada. his son has been an independent diabetic since he was a baby. his insurance from work won't cover his treatments. his families are more than just about money. since they could about ford to treat they're son's diabetes it developed into a disease called ats ons and they can't afford to treat it either. this can be fatal. mike wrote be two weeks ago i quote, i don't know w

fur from nevada, we especially want to hear from you. mark in little river, south carolina on the republican line. go ahead with what you think. caller: he has the best congress money can buy. mary lander got her $3 million for holding out. senator ben nelson is holding out. all you have to do is hold out and be a democrat and you can get what you want from harry reid. he's not going to be there next year. anybody that would hope that this would be their senator is kind of off their rocker. host: believer in arizona. what do you think about the management? caller: peter. i think hery reed is doing 9 best he can with the option. reed has man who is definitely a republican. members of his own party. they went after him. who did they get? they got nay sayer in there. i like senator reed. i feel sorry for him. he's up against a stone wall. >> good to hear from you. you have a great holiday season. el pass owe texas. >> i know harry reid is an opportunityist. i have observed him in vegas many times where he was dealing with one of the biggest

. >> steve: ramon sessions, this is his third year from nevada. almost got it at the buzzer. the timberwolves after trailing by as many as 7, end the quarter on a 12-4 run. kevin love continuing his strong play at 7 points on 3-4 shooting. we have played one in minneapolis where the wizards are looking for their first three game win streak since the season before last. they trail t honey... the credit fairy... doesn't exist. what? it's make-believe. nobody left anything under your pillow. if there's no credit fairy then who will make our credit score go up? we will. by doing things like paying our bills on time. announcer: there's no magic to improving your credit. but there's help and it's free. go to creditfairy.org what? and what did she say? she said whatever. >> steve: snowing on and off all day in minneapolis. they had 15 inches on the ground when they arrived last night. the wizards have outscored the wizards after the wizards led by seven. >> phil: there were a couple place that went up and jeff everwas looking towards the room. that was o

nevada, 104,043. new hampshire, 13,200. new jersey, 156,607. new mexico, 73,567.look at new york, 853,387. north carolina, 251,738. people enrolled in medicare advantage, who love the program. north dakota, 7,633. ohio, 499,819. goo geewhiz, that's a lot of people who are satisfied with medicare advantage. oklahoma, 84,980. oregon, one of the most liberal states in the union, 249,993. pennsylvania, 864,040. puerto rico even, 400,991. rhode island, 65,108. south carolina, 110,949. these are senior citizens. south dakota, 8,973. tennessee, 233,024. texas, 532,242. my own state of utah, 85,588. vermont, only 3,966, but 3,000 people -- 4,000 people in vermont. virginia, 151,942. washington, 225,918. west virginia, 88,027. wisconsin, 243,443, and wyoming, 3,942. these are people who benefit from medicare advantage that would not like to get off of it. well, this choice in coverage has made a difference in the lives of more than almost 11 million people. 11 million individuals nationwide, families that benefit from this. the extra benefits that i had mentioned earlier a

and i'd like to thank the senator from nevada for that courtesy. thank you, mr. president. as this debate draws to a close and my colleagues and i prepare to vote on a health care reform bill i recognize the long hours and the negotiation have left some nerves and tempers frayed. that's why i come to the floor today. although our work keeps us away from our family and friends for much of this holiday season, i see no reason we cannot share good cheer to one another right here in washington. so in the spirit of the season, mr. president, i would like to share my own version of a classic of a story with my good friends on both sides of the aisle. and it goes something like this, mr. president. it was the night before christmas -- it was the night before christmas and all through the senate the right to live our health care bill no matter what was in it. the people had voted, the mandated reform, but republicans blew off the gathering storm. we clogged up the senate, they cried with a gregorian grin, and in the midterm elections will get voted in. the regular folks needed help

they work at aircraft spaces in nevada. guys in afghanistan launch and recover drones and are responsible for small area operations, usually about air bases. these contractors are constantly looking drones from the air strip, and they pass them off to the guys in las vegas. they fly around a return to drown -- around and return at the control of the drone of two guys in canada are -- to guys in kandahar. they look for any activity. they took a plane and they took the pilot out of the cockpit and put the satellite dish in. the pilot will always control the aircraft. we did that because a regular person could not just sit up there in a small cramped space. no big need for a footprint. flexibility allows you to do that. >> they have video cameras and tv cameras and also have radar taking these snapshots. what you do is in the morning tape one snapshot. later you take one other, and you compare them. it d.c. a corner that looks disturb like somebody was chopping the ground up, he might have spotted a roadside bomb that they hav

the presiding officer: the senator from nevada. mr. ensign: mr. president, i'd ask unanimous consent that myself and my colleague -- two colleagues would be able to engage in a colloquy. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. ensign: mr. president, i want to start by talking about the bill in general, make a couple of general points. i would be happy to yield. mr. durbin: could you give us an indication how long you expect your colloquy to last? mr. ensign: 30, 40 minutes, somewhere in there. mr. durbin: thank you. mr. ensign: mr. president, there's a lot of talk about this bill. i want to make some general comments about it. first of all, following up on my colleague from illinois, he said that this was not a half a trillion dollars in medicare cuts. well, according to the congressional budget office, it's $465 -- $464 billion to $465 billion in medicare cuts. so maybe not quite a half a trillion but certainly -- certainly we're getting close to that. there are, however, a half a trillion dollars in new taxes in this bill, 84% of which wil

we showed you moments ago senator ensign from nevada and his constitutional challenge. his constitutional procedural move of the point of order against the legislation. kathleen hunter from sea to rice that while the senate is unlikely to uphold his challenge, senator ensign raised points almost certain to resurface in litigation if the legislation becomes law. most points are not debatable but under unanimous consent agreement the senate will not vote on senator ensign's challenge until wednesday. on the health side of things, associate press reported that freshman democratic house number parker griffith of alabama is switching to the republican party that his office said on tuesday that the senate is back in. live coverage now here on c-span2. time and also for your great efforts on this legislation. thank you very much. mr. president, it is a profound privilege to have the opportunity to serve the people of rhode island and in that capacity to support the legislation that is before us. this effort has been decades in the making. every year that passes without health

let's listen to the majority leader, senator harry reid from nevada. >> more and more americans have come down with the flu, or even developed diabetes, suffered a stroke more and more americans who have a skin condition are dying rather than being cared. and much more of our attention has consumed this health care debate and the national study than by harvard university found that 4500 times this year more than 120 times per day, an average of 10 every ten minutes, an american died as a result the numbers are numbing. they don't even include those that have had health insurance but died because they couldn't afford a plan that met their most basic needs. they are the only place that they are dying for lack of possible. to make matters worst, we are paying for that privilege. so do numbers that can't afford. medical bills are the leading cause of bankruptcy in america. we have before us the ability to provide quality health care to every american and we have the ability to treat our unhealthy health care system. this make it is illegal because of pre-existing conditions. mr. presiden

the clerk: the senator from nevada, mr. reid, proposes amendment numbered 3276 to amendment number 2786. mr. reid: madam president? the presiding officer: majority leader. mr. reid: madam president, before offering the amendment, the so-called manager's amendment, i've spoken with my republican counterpart. i would ask consent that the democratic senator on my side be allowed to speak for up to nine minutes prior to my offering the amendment. mr. mcconnell: madam president, i object. the presiding officer: objection is heard. mr. reid: thank you, madam president. i have not given up the floor, madam president. mr. mcconnell: madam president, parliamentary inquiry. the presiding officer: the minority leader is recognized for a parliamentary inquiry. mr. mcconnell: what is the pending business? the presiding officer: the amendment 3276 has been presented. mr. mcconnell: is it necessary to report the last amendment? the presiding officer: the amendment has been reported. mr. reid: i still have the floor; is that right? mr. mcc

their work at the air force base in nevada. the guys in afghanistan launch and recover them.they are responsible for operations in small areas usually around the air base. it is like a 24 hour operation. the air for skies and contractors are constantly dragging these out to the air strip in watching them from control trailers with a remote control. they pass them off to the guys in las vegas. they fly around and return the drowns -- drones to the guys in control. they will look for roadside bombs, any activity. >> they took a pilot out of the cockpit and put in a satellite dish. they are always looking for the control. the missions can be so long, over one day sometimes, that a regular person could not do it. it also allows us to do the majority of the work back in the united states and there is no need to deploy. you can also ship of the crew for four era -- four hours. having that kind of flexibility allows you to do that. >> they have video cameras and high fidelity radar that takes these really impressive snapshots of terrain. in the morning you take one snapshot. you com

excuse for it was that nevada and new york are particularly hard hit by the recession. one of our complaints is -- and part of the phony accounting is that this doesn't even go into effect for four more years. so how would we know that in four more years, nevada and new york will be the hardest hit? how did we know it won't be wyoming and colorado? so the formulas ought to be formulas that are going to work for everybody all of the time, not just for some of the leadership. so there are some flaws in here that we need to take a look at, we need to clear up and olympic not going to keep everybody much longer because i'd like to go hear the president speak, too, and i apologize for the time that i've taken, but once in a while a speech gets me kind of concerned and i have to expound a little bit on it, and i think that the people of america need to know -- actually, i think the people of america kind of figured this out. i think that's why the problem is in august. i think that's why we're not going home on the weekends because we don't want people to hear what the people

in october, i was in nevada, where i announced an award to the nevada at energy advance service deliveryproject. because this funding was more than matched by the private sector, this is nearly 8 $300 million investment. these funds were part of 100 grants made available by this administration, totaling $3.4 billion to help build a nationwide smart energy grid system. i saw firsthand the work that was done to support the infrastructure. it will help modernize clean energy and provide a clean energy jobs that will follow suit. we need more stories like this, stories about public/private partnerships that leverage innovative ideas to create jobs for all americans. that is why i am energized to begin today's conversation and hear from many of you. i think we can all agree that no matter who you are, work is much more than a source of income. it is a source of dignity. but the work is about who and what we are, -- work is about who and what we are, so let's get to work. tomorrow, president obama will travel to allentown, pa.. the white house media team traveled to allentown and has captured

and if we could get california and those four states, utah, arizona, nevada, and mexico -- that would be a country of vast designs. and i think that what john is saying is that polk is the instrument of the sentiment that emerge. and i make the point that he emerged very powerfully in america, largely from the annexation of texas. >> go back to the diary. did you read it in credit or longhand form? >> i get to frustrated trying to read the handwriting of the 19th century. i read the version published by the chicago public library. i went over it very carefully. >> google has got it. you can watch it on your computer. did you read it all? >> oh, yes, i read it all. multiple times. i took notes from it. i came very close to memorizing it. >> if you had the four volumes, how big was it? >> each was 500 pages. >> you that 2000 pages of typed diary. >> >> james buchanan was considered our worst president. very disloyal to polk. and he had an inability to fire the man. he cannot abide face-to-face confrontation. he was almost cowardly face-to- face, and i do not think that was an unfair cha

. >> i will tell you the contribution to this nation made by the senator from nevada will be one of the shining chapters in the history of the new united states senate and in our nation. he achieved what others have failed. he did it with the tenacity and determination that i have never seen here in my time serving in congress. i am honored to have served beside can and so many others to see this great day finally arrived. this is a time of year when -- with long nights. people would gather and look for signs of hope and light a candle. this morning, this votes in the united states senate lit a candle of hope for 50 million americans who went to bed last night without the protection of health insurance, for millions " wonder if they were would ever win that battle for the coverage that they need. for the medication, for the surgical procedure. it is also a candle of hope for this nation that we are finally tackling a nation that every family knows that is central to our progress as a nation. we have succeeded to the efforts of senator baucus and senator dodd and senator schumer and sena

like so many in nevada and across the nation, she recently lost her job. with her job loss, she lost her insurance. she lost her health care. so alicia now went out and tried to buy a new plan to help her afford the care. she can't. no one will give her insurance. can't find a job to have group insurance. what did the insurance companies tell her -- plural? that her kidney disorder is a preexisting condition. and because of that policy, it's reprehensible of the insurance industry, they refuse to cover. they refuse to cover this young woman at the exact moment she needs it the most. she then tried to go get some help from medicaid, but what is her response? she doesn't qualify because she isn't pregnant and she doesn't have children. and basically, she doesn't have a disability. so, how can you take a woman like alicia out of your mind? i think she's probably following this debate. it means a lot more to her -- this debate -- than the legislative exercise for political objective. she'll pick up the newspaper this morning, turn on the news, go online to rea

those who hold this view that the earth is flat and the moon landing is staged in a movie set in nevada. it may also explain how he could miss the irony of likening deniers who don't believe in space travel one of those is michael griffin, the head of nasa and the other who heads research on the russian international space station. a third is the head of the danish national space agency. a fourth is one of the best known scientists known on earth to further space flight he discovered nuclear propulsion for the orion project. this bubble, i believe, also explains the fervor of belief by al gore and others and their ability, the freedom they feel to act with impunity. the ability to attack regardless of his credentials. last year when michael griffin, the head of nasa, told national public radio that he believes global warming isn't a problem worth wrestling with, well, he was attacked. you'd think that griffin was entitled it off express his viewpoint. he holds a ph.d. in aerospace engineering. he holds five masters degrees. he's a member of the national academy of engineering, and the i