udall: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate kphraoeuts business today it -- completes its business it adjourn until 2:00 p.m. monday, december 14, following the prayer and pledge, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day and the senate proceed to a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each with the republicans controlling the first 30 minutes and the majority controlling the next 30 minutes. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. udall: mr. president, if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it adjourn under the previous order. the presiding officer: the senate starpbdz adjourned until so i've always liked horses. jeffrey, a co-editor, jeffrey sinclair in oregon city, he puts this site up on the material about 7:30 so we crack and at about 6:30 and discuss what

president, i yield ten minutes to the senator from colorado, senator udall. mr. udall: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from colorado. mr. udall: i thank the senator from montana for yielding. -- [inaudible] i want to begin by commending my colleagues for strapping on their snow gear. the presiding officer comes from a state where this kind of a storm we've had here the last few days is not that unusual a development. i like a good 16-inch dusting from time to time. we all know what an important issue reforming our health care system is, so braving elements outside is a small price to pay. mr. president, i've come to the floor an awful lot over these last few months to discuss many of the challenges facing us as we work towards a fix for our broken health care system. one overarching theme that i consider to family size is how critical this effort is to putting our economy back on track. we've got a bloated $12 trillion federal debt which is being fed daily by growing health care costs. every day employers small and large are laying off workers and slashing

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 and of those who do not will be able to have health insurance. this is a victory because we have affirmed that the ability to live a healthy life in our great country is a right and not merely privilege for the select few. this morning's vote brings us one step

senator udall? >> thank you very much, chairman rockefeller. i want in particular to thank you for doing this investigation and doing this hearing today because i think it raises consumer awareness in such a way that really brings sunlight to this process. and as one of our witnesses said earlier, you can go and do a lot of things but a hearing like this, i think brings it out to the public. and i'm in a way reminded of the -- my days as state attorney general where we used to say when we worked in the consumer protection context, a good business wants bad business out of business. as senator lemieux just said any legitimate business that's teaming up with these kind of scam operators i wouldn't call them a good business anymore. the good businesses should be stepping forward. they should be distancing themselves from this kind of behavior. and they should be working with prosecutors. with state district attorneys. with attorneys general to get this done. and to get people prosecuted and to say we're going to take this very seriously. i have a

on the udall for president committee? >> i'm ashamed to admit. >> i was distracting senator udall because i was try to figure out if you then jump ship on come for mondale. it appears that you did not. >> i did give out the vote in illinois for jimmy carter. very poorly you might die. it actually got notices of how about get the vote out west. >> i wanted to welcome you professor cox for the purpose of record, professor cox has been very active in a number of very important consumer issues and has helped me on some of the work we're doing with cell phones, which is now emerged again this week with the early termination fees charged by verizon and other things. so i want to thank you for that. and i know you were working with mike hench, the attorney general, did you file the suit on similar things like this before? >> senator klobuchar, yes. it was the predecessor to vertrue and u.s. bank were. there was about five suits including fleet mortgage company. we try to go up the chain and hold people responsible at the financi

thing that really got to him, carter refused to support archibald cox because he had supported might udall in the primaries. teddy did not hold grudges in that way. >> if carter had named archie cox to that judgeship, would he have reconsidered running for president? one of the things he is candid about our his laws. there is one moment where he says there are so many stories about me, unfortunately, some of them were true. some of them were embellishments, and some were so amazing i cannot believe anyone thought i could do that. it creates an unusual kind of humility in a public figure. when you talk about empathy for the suffering, which he had,

thing that really got to him, carter refused to support archibald cox because he had supported might udalln the primaries. teddy did not hold grudges in that way. >> if carter had named archie cox to that judgeship, would he have reconsidered running for president? one of the things he is candid about our his laws. there is one moment where he says there are so many stories about me, unfortunately, some of them were true. some of them were embellishments, and some were so amazing i cannot believe anyone thought i could do that. it creates an unusual kind of humility in a public figure. when you talk about empathy for the suffering, which he had, there is also a sense of human frailty. having a sense of human frailty is a very useful thing in confronting the world, and being honest about it in yourself can make you a far more understanding and decent person. he was not someone who was flawed and then judge everyone else by some other standard. was struck about his own tendecandor. >> let's talk about that in terms of biography, a political autobiography. 99% of people the right political au

thing that really got to him, carter refused to support archibald cox because he had supported might udalln the primaries. teddy did not hold grudges in that way. >> if carter had named archie cox to that judgeship, would he have reconsidered running for president? one of the things he is candid about our his laws. there is one moment where he says there are so many stories about me, unfortunately, some of them were true. some of them were embellishments, and some were so amazing i cannot believe anyone thought i could do that. it creates an unusual kind of humility in a public figure. when you talk about empathy for the suffering, which he had, there is also a sense of human frailty. having a sense of human frailty is a very useful thing in confronting the world, and being honest about it in yourself can make you a far more understanding and decent person. he was not someone who was flawed and then judge everyone else by some other standard. i was struck about his own tendecandor. >> let's talk about that in terms of biography, a political autobiography. 99% of people the right political

provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable mark udalnator from the state of colorado, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: robert c. byrd, presidet pro tempore. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is read served. under the previous order the senate will resoup consideration of the conference report to accompany h.r. 3288, the clerk will report. the clerk: conference report to accompany h.r. 3288, an act making for housing and urban development and so forth and for other purposes much -- purposes. the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. harkin: mr. president -- if the senator from iowa will -- the presiding officer: the time until 2:00 p.m. will be equally divided and controlled between the leaders or designees. the senator from iowa. mr. harkin: parliamentary inquiry. how much time will i be recognized for now. the presiding officer: the senator from iowa will be recognized for 13 minutes. mr. harkin: mr. president, i don't intend to use it more, if others on my side are seeking it. but,

provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable mark udall, a senator from the state of colorado, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: robert c. byrd, president pro tempore. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the time until 1:00 a.m. will be equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees, with the majority leader controlling the final ten minutes prior to 1:00 a.m. and the republican leader controlling the ten minutes immediately prior. mr. alexander: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee. mr. alexander: mr. president, i intend to take ten minutes of the republican time. will you please let me know when one minute remains. the presiding officer: the senator will be notified. mr. alexander: i thank you, mr. president. mr. president, there may be a number of americans who are switching over from the minnesota v. carolina football game and they may be wondering what in the world is the united states senate doing coming into session at midnight on a sunday in the middle of

chairman. >> thank you very much, senator udall. senator collins. >> general, ambassador, it is great to see. like everyone else here, i was planning to reminisce about having to sit -- having seen you in afghanistan in august, but because i saw both of you yesterday at the white house, it seems that has been taken over by events. but we thank you both for your extraordinary service, which is so appreciated. i cannot imagine how are having better leaders in afghanistan -- our having better leaders in afghanistan and the two of you. having seen part of your hearing on the house side earlier today, you are eager to return to afghanistan and get on with a job rather than appearing here in washington both before the house and the senate. general, you have such great knowledge and deep understanding of afghanistan. you mentioned in your statement today that you were first deployed there in 2002, and it commanded troops there every single year since then. which is truly extraordinary. i also know that you have studied closely the history

udall: mr.sident, my freshmen colleagues and i have come to the floor on a regular basis over these past months to make clear to both sides of the aisle how critical it is to reforming our health care system. right now too many americans lack the freedom to move to a new job, further their education, start a small business because doing so would ko* put them at risk of losing their health care coverage for their family. mr. president, you think about it, freedom is, after all, about choices. what motivates me and i know motivates all of my freshmen colleagues is the desire to preserve and enhance the freedom of those who live in our states. this legislation we've been debating and amending over the past few weeks can and should be a vehicle we use to enhance freedom for all of our american citizens. we're going to repair and modernize our broken health care system. and if we fail to do so, we perpetuate anant kwaeupted status quo -- an antiquated system that keeps stability out of the reach of m

udall: thank you, mr. president.his effort to reform our nation's health care system is finding ways to make quality health coverage affordable and accessible to all americans, and i believe the bill we're considering in this chamber as it currently stands goes a long way towards making that vision a reality. but even with this solid legislation, there is still a large group of americans who continue to be left behind. i'm talking about our country's first americans, the 1.9 million american indian and alaska natives who are suffering because the federal government isn't living up to its promises. the law that provides the framework under which the health care programs for native americans are delivered hasn't been re-authorized for more than ten years. this means that the indian health services delivery system is chronically underfunded, and given the rapid advance of health care technology, outdated. as a result, too many native americans are struggling to receive quality, timely health care. this agency is suppose

udall of arizona everything that can be possibly said on this issue has been said. only not everyone has said it. so i will try to be brief. it seems to me from being on the floor every day with my friends and colleagues in watching our friend on the other side of the aisle that there is an increasing sense of desperation about trying to corral 60 votes in order to pass this legislation. and a new proposal has strong up the flagpole and we see how it works, the latest being expansion of medicare down to people age 55. everyone i talk to has said expansion of medicare, perhaps may increase revenue in the short term but obviously will increase costs over time and immediately will be the subject of adverse selection. in other words the people who are the sickest will sign up first and who pays the well people do. we will see the results of the last one. but the one before was the, quote, class act. the actuary does not have time to estimate. i will lay odds as to what the estimate of increased costs of increasing participation in medicare but the class act, the class a

udal of colorado? >> aye. host: the senate has now passed their healthcare bill.s is not the end. there will be some type of reconsiliation with the house bill which will pass on november 7th. we will continue that process but this is another step in healthcare reform in the nation's capital. in georgia. you are in support of this bill? caller: yes. with the idea that this may be something to build upon. i don't know exactly what would be in this bill. they should have reduced everything to the lowest common sdee nominator and kept everything real simple. the only significant time i used my health insurance is when i broke my leg. i spent three days in the hospital. the hospital presented me a bill for $40,000. they settled for blue cross for $40,000. at the same time, my insurance went from $500 a month, when i dropped it, it was $1200. the price should be the price on healthcare and precipitation drugs, if you sell it in one part of the world for a price, that's the same price it should be charged for here. all those 100 senators sitting there, they need to have

udal of colorado? >> aye. host: the senate has now passed their healthcare bill. this is not the end. there will be some type of reconsiliation with the house bill which will pass on november 7th. we will continue that process but this is another step in healthcare reform in the nation's capital. in georgia. you are in support of this bill? caller: yes. with the idea that this may be something to build upon. i don't know exactly what would be in this bill. they should have reduced everything to the lowest common sdee nominator and kept everything real simple. the only significant time i used my health insurance is when i broke my leg. i spent three days in the hospital. the hospital presented me a bill for $40,000. they settled for blue cross for $40,000. at the same time, my insurance went from $500 a month, when i dropped it, it was $1200. the price should be the price on healthcare and precipitation drugs, if you sell it in one part of the world for a price, that's the same price it should be charged for here. all those 100 senators sitting there, they need to

thing that really got to him, carter refused to support archibald cox because he had supported might udall in the primaries. teddy did not hold grudges in that way. >> if carter had named archie cox to that judgeship, would he have reconsidered running for president? one of the things he is candid about our his laws. there is one moment where he says there are so many stories about me, unfortunately, some of them were true. some of them were embellishments, and some were so amazing i cannot believe anyone thought i could do that. it creates an unusual kind of humility in a public figure. when you talk about empathy for the suffering, which he had, there is also a sense of human frailty. having a sense of human frailty is a very useful thing in confronting the world, and being honest about it in yourself can make you a far more understanding and decent person. he was not someone who was flawed and then judge everyone else by some other standard. i was struck about his own candor. >> let's talk about that in terms of biography, a political autobiography. 99% of people the right political aut

. >> thank you, senator udall. senator collins. >> secretary gates, i am going to explore with you an issue that senator graham raced. it is an issue that you touched on in your testimony. i think it is the fundamental question, and that is why afghanistan? in your statement you list six primary objectives from the strategy, one of which is preventing al qaeda from regaining sanctuary in afghanistan. yet we know that the al qaeda has a presence in as many as 20 countries, and in yemen, for example, al qaeda is strong enough that a cell there was able to launch a successful attack on our embassy just a year ago. so the fundamental question to mean is how will it make us safer to invest more troops and more treasure in afghanistan as long as al qaeda still has the ability to establish safe haven in other countries? what is it about afghanistan that makes it critical that we invest more troops, more civilian personnel, put more people at risk, in that country? >> first of all, as the president indicated last night, th

provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable tom udall, a senator from the state of new mexico, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: robert c. byrd, presidet pro tempore. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader is recognized. mr. reid: i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader is recognized. mr. reid: i ask consent the call of the quorum be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. roeupl following leader remarks the senate will resume consideration of health care reform legislation. the first hour will be equally divided and controlled between the leaders or their designees. the -- we expect to vote in relation to the hutchison amendment today and the sanders amendment. it is my understanding senator sanders will offer his amendment around 11:00 today. they will both be pending. senators will be notified as to when any votes are scheduled. mr. president, we co

provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable tom udall , a senator from the state of new mexico, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: robert c. byrd, presidet pro tempore. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader is recognized. mr. reid: following leader remarks the senate will resume consideration of the health care reform legislation. it will be for debate only until 11:30, alternating blocks of time. the first 30 minutes will be under the control of the republicans. the majority will control the next 30 minutes. the senate will recess from 11:30 until 12:30 today. following the recess the senate will resume consideration of the health care legislation. hopefully we can have some votes this afternoon. we've been unable to work that out with the majority, and we'll see what the afternoon brings. this historic health reform bill before us is strong, and it's a strong, strong head start in the right direction toward urgently needed change. like nearly every bill that comes before the senate, it stands to b

. >> udall no percentagewise? >> no, i just can't do that because i know one, it would be wrong and there's an awful lot of detail work that is still got to be done to answer that question. >> president karzai said the other day that it could take five years before afghan forces were ready to leave on their own. how does that fit in with the july 2011 days of possible drawdown and handing over to them? could you hold up for five years for them to be ready? >> the way i understood president karzai's statements is that is his cool to essentially take complete charge of their own security destiny with forces in five years. the july 2011 date is they begin to transition of that process based on conditions, doing it responsively, where we can with the afghan security forces for them to start to take the lead, not unlike what we did in iraq. we did not pick a date and turn them all over, give them the lead in the rack on a single day. it was done their province by province. it will be done here both province by province

. >> and the words of the late senator udall from arizona everything said on this issue has been steadily not everyone has said it. i will try to be brief. it seems to me from being on the floor every day with my friends and colleagues and watching your friends on the other side of the aisle, there is the increasing sense of desperation about trying to corral 60 votes in order to pass this legislation. a new proposal has run up the flagpole and we see how it works. the latest of course, the expansion of medicare down to people age 55 per everyone i have talked to has said expansion of medicare may increase revenues in the short term but obviously will increase the cost over time and immediately the subject of adverse selection. in other words, the people who are the sickest will sign up first with a and who pays the well people? we will see what the results of our. but the one before was a class act. the actuary does not have time to estimate. i will lay odds from increasing the participation in medicare but with the class act, that will be the answer but the rebuild says the class act th

provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable tom udall, a senator from the state of new mexico, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: robert c. byrd, presidet pro tempore. mr. reid: mr. president, following leader remarks -- the presiding officer: the majority leader is recognized. mr. reid: i'm so sorry. sorry about that, mr. president. i just got a little ahead of myself, which is easy to do sometimes. following leader remarks the senate will resume consideration of the health reform ltion. the time until 10:00 is divided between the two leaders or designees. at 9:00 until 2:00 p.m. there will be an hour of alternating blocks of time with the majority controlling the first hour. the time between 2:00 and 2:15 will be equally divided between the two leaders with the majority leader controlling the final half, there will then be five or six roll call votes in relation to the hc bill. -- in relation to the health care bill. note the absence of a quorum, mr. president. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. [no audio] t

thing that really got to him, carter refused to support archibald cox because he had supported might udalln the primaries. teddy did not hold grudges in that way. >> if carter had named archie cox to that judgeship, would he have reconsidered running for president? one of the things he is candid about our his laws. there is one moment where he says there are so many stories about me, unfortunately, some of them were true. some of them were embellishments, and some were so amazing i cannot believe anyone thought i could do that. it creates an unusual kind of humility in a public figure. when you talk about empathy for the suffering, which he had, there is also a sense of human frailty. having a sense of human frailty is a very useful thing in confronting the world, and being honest about it in yourself can make you a far more understanding and decent person. he was not someone who was flawed and then judge everyone else by some other standard. i was struck about his own tendecandor. >> let's talk about that in terms of biography, a political autobiography. 99% of people the right political

senator udall is next. >> thank you, mr. chairman. good afternoon, gentlemen. as many of us have said up here, i want to thank you for your service, and i look forward as well to joining senator mccain and senator lieberman in their upcoming visits to afghanistan as you begin to implement this important strategy. i know that we've all talked about secretary gates and both of you about the limits of our ability to actually defeat the taliban. there's been a lot of talk about reconciliation with the taliban. and how we drive wedges between those who are interested in the taliban and its presence for political purposes versus those who are eager to push the forces of chaos and destruction and hatred. i know we're not in the best position to pursue reconciliation right now given that the taliban are strong and lack an incentive change. but i'd like to think we're doing more in this area than we have been and that we're working closely with the afghan government. could both of you comment on my question? >> i certainly can. i can start. i don't agree when people say

udall: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, today i rise to honor a brave son of anthony, new mexico. army corporal anthony corosco jr. was killed november 4 after being hit by sniper fire while serving his country in iraq. he was 25 years old. corporal corosco, or tony as he was called by his family and friends, was a husband, father, and son. he and his wife johanna are expecting a child, and he had two small stepchildren who adored him. tony served as a truck commander for armored vehicles. it was his job to direct his vehicle down streets infested with roadside bombs and targeted by insurgents, attacking from the shadows of buildings. tony understd accepted the riske died doing what he loved -- serving a country he loved. his fellow soldiers describe tony as an opt timist. -- as an optimist. his platoon sergeant put it best -- tony saw the good in everything. he was a soldier who never, ever complained. sergeant brown called tony the best soldier i ever had. as senators or as citizens, we cannot fully experience

patient protection and affordability care act, signed by 17 senators as follows -- reid of nevada, dodd, udall of colorado, leahy, akaka, durbin, brown, shaheen, kerry, reed of rhode island, harkin, whitehouse, gillibrand, merkley, lieberman, boxer, and stabenow. mr. reid: i now withdraw that motion. the presiding officer: motion is withdrawn. mr. reid: i now move to recess until 10:01 a.m. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, parliamentary inquiry. the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: before we proceed to the vote, i'd just like to make a parliamentary inquiry. i believe it is the case that a simple motion to recess or adjourn is not amendable. is that correct? the presiding officer: the republican leader is correct. mr. mcconnell: further inquiry, i also believe that a motion to recess or adjourning to a time certain is amendable with time changes. the presiding officer: the republican leader is correct. mr. mcconnell: i'll not offer an amendment to change the time to convene until later tomorrow, but just so everybody will know with regard to their own personal schedules, y