we have welcomed his successor to the united states senate. but i also want to just make some remarks about senator coleman's service here in the senate and sort of my recollections of that. obviously all of us come here motivated to do different things. we all have reasons that we want to be in public service, things that we want to accomplish. senator coleman obviously came from the state of minnesota, having been in an executive position, having served as mayor of st. paul where he accomplished some wonderful things for the state, not the least of which was bringing hockey to minnesota, which is something that any of us from that region of the country know it was greatly appreciated by the citizens of that, of his city and his state. but came to the united states senate under unique circumstances. i recall having traveled around the country with senator coleman as we were campaigning together in 2002 trying to come to the united states senate and having an opportunity to get to know somebody. and when you travel with somebody on an ongoing b

a bill that i'm sure will be passed from the environment and public works committee of the united states senate, the cap-and-trade bill that is yet to be drafted. but the chairman of that committee, senator boxer, stated it's going to be basically be the framework of the waxman bill from the house, that was passed from the house by a margin of 219 votes to 212, i think it was. anyway, that at least gives us something to talk about. i'd like to go back historically to my first exposure to this whole issue. back about ten years ago we had the kyoto treaty. the kyoto treaty was a treaty that would -- that then the clinton-gore administration was trying to get us to ratify here in the united states senate. and that was a treaty that would establish a cap-and-trade type of arrangement to limit the number of co2 -- the proper term is anthropogenic gases, anthropogenic manmade gases, methane co2. the theory behind that was, and i believed it, that these manmade gases are causing global warming. i assumed the science was there and it was settled. everybody thought it was. i was chairman at that time of

about the importance of representing the wonderful people of illinois and how important the united states senate is to the future of our country. when i was named to the senate back in december, i stated that i would serve a two-year term. i felt strongly at that time that illinois needed two full-time senators. and i still feel that way. i have served the people of this state for 30 years, public service means working, advocating and fighting for your constituents and their needs. day in and day out. that has been my commitment. i have tried to do that every day of my career. and i'm honored to be a member of the yunited states senate at such a critical time in our history. we have a new president, new ideas dealing with health care, the economy, jobs, schools and the environment, all important issues for the people of our state and our nation. i am proud to follow in his footsteps in the senate and i look forward to continuing to work with him on the pressing issues of our time. united states senate will be at the center of debate for all of those issues. i've been a member of that body now fo

they have done a great job the last six months trying the burden of two united states senators. she is an extraordinary public servant. i do not reach this with any big regret. i ran the campaign. i conducted the legal challenges. i have always believed you do the best you can and be the result of to a higher authority. i am at peace with that. the future plans are subject for another day. we live in a great country and a great state. we have confidence, we can all come together and arrive at a better future that we all seek. thank you. may god bless you and minnesota. they got continue to bless the united states of america. [applause] >> this means we are ruling out any more appeals. this is done. >> i have congratulated al franken. 2008 is a long time ago. it is over. we will work together to support our new united states senator. >> was added to step away from more legal battles? was it money? why me to step down? >> i wanted a chance to raise the issues that we thought had to be raised. a lot of folks have not been counted in their votes. we went to the highest court. the is

and that i will not for the united states senate seat. >> that was senator rond burris announcing todaheun foection for the seat he was appointed to brod blagojojevich. we're ba with lynn sweet "chicago sun-times," and pry bacoof "the washingn post" for more theolitics fix. did he just do the math and figure ian't winhis se? there's no sense trying? he had more upon in s pocket than in his caaign account, didn he? >> he did try. he meant to party leers in may. he tried to do some fund-raising. the numbers weren'there. he told memay it doesn't matter what i want to doif i don't have any money i can't run. and it took him awhile t realize that this s it. because heidant to try and get elecd to the seat he was appointed to. the politics in linois were stacked against him. no one, national or cal, of any demoatic stature, would haveacked him. >> perry bacon, he seemed to love the job, emed to be thrill getting that apintmenthat looked like the place he wanted to spe the better part of the next decade, at least. los like he's got no fight left in him, huh? >> yes. saw him earlier this week, t

, misinformed the american people and the united states senate? mr. brownback: what i am suggesting by this is that this was part of a negotiation and that they have wide latitude. mr. kerry: but the president of the united states -- mr. brownback: if i could continue myance for my colleague, who has asked a very -- if i could continue my answer for my colleague, who has asked a very pertinent question on this issue, who is very familiar with the six-party talks, which i am somewhat familiar with the six- party talks. these are talks that have been going on for a long period of tiesm the north koreans hate being listed as state sponsor of terrorism. they are big push was to be delisted. the administration has broad authority. it has broad abilities to be able to interpret this and they said, okay, we're going to be able to do this. and we will find some room in here to interpret this this way, in exchange for you guys stopping your weapons of mass destruction, which did not happen. and i am saying that what we should do now is not continue with tha

the health care bill, if it comes over from the house might be rushed to the floor of the united states senate, put on the floor under rule 14 and, you know, try to get it passed before the august recess. that's not the way to conduct the business of the united states senate. that's not the way to deal with one-sixth of the american economy. it's not the way, certainly, to deal with something as complex as the american health care system. and to allow the government takeover of that system seems, to me to be a -- something that most americans, if they were aware it was happening would not be for, and i think that the survey numbers bear that out. i think as is true with cap-and-trade, the more the american people are engaged in this debate, the more objections will they will -- they will have to the government takeover of health care in this country. these are issues that need to be done thoughtfully, carefully, and, frankly, they shouldn't be rushed out of here. we shouldn't talk about passing health care out of the senate before the august break, we shouldn't be talk -- talk about -- doing c

senator from texas. mr. cornyn: mr. president, i would like to address the nomination of judge sonia sotomayor to be associate justice of the united states supreme court. the power of the constitution confers upon the united states senate to provide advice and consent on judicial nominations as one of the most solemn responsibilities that we have. the supreme court justices have always had tremendous power within our constitutional syst system, separated and enumerated powers. in recent decades, growing concern has arisen 0 over judicial activism on the court, which has the necessary consequence of taking power away from the elected representatives and, thus, the people themselves and conferring those in life tenure, unelected judges, 0 who have occasionally used this power conferred upon them under the constitution and imposed their own views and their own agenda on the american people and substituting that for the views of their elected representatives. we now see that five votes on the united states supreme court can invent new rights that aren't found in the constitution or narrow the scope of rights that generations of americans hav

the disturbance and, again, as senator sessions and i have said, this is a meeting of the united states senate. we shall respect everybody who's here. we will show respect to everybody here. and certainly to judge sotomayor. to the senators on both sides of the aisle. and we will have order in this room. >> thank you, mr. leahy. >> thank you. senator franken, please continue. >> thank you, mr. chairman. what i was saying is this is the first hearings since 1965 that senator kennedy has not been present and i know he's off the committee now but we do miss his presence. these televised hearings over the years have taught americans a lot about our constitution and the role that the courts play in upholding and defending it. i look forward to listening to all of your questions and the issues that you and your constituents care about. to judge sotomayor, welcome. over the next few days i expect to learn from you, as well. as has been said, you are the most experienced nominee to the supreme court in 100 years and after meeting with you in my office last week, i know you are not just an outstanding

this is the most comprehensive thing we have ever addressed in the united states senate. it is important that we get it right. that bill got it wrong. we tried through a long process of amendments to get it right. we got it wrong. we did a bunch of amendments to point out the flaws in the bill. this bill will not meet any of the president's goals. we had only half of the draft. the bill failed in what it was set out to do. i hope they can fix this. we had five republican bill that's answered all of the things the president did. we had to do those. we have to get rid of if it is suggested by the republicans it has to be bad. >> thank you for your leadership in the last few weeks. >> the democrat throughout the first pitch last night this bill leaves 34 million people uncovered we should get under control of the healthcare. it adds over $1 trillion i have specfic yik proposals i can bend the cost of healthcare and make sure the government can keep their insurance. it was regrettable when we offered the amendments, the issues raise their primary concerns >> senator. thank yo

again, as senator sessions and i have said, this is a meeting of the united states senate. ill show respect to everybody who is here. we will show respect to everybody here. certainly to judge sotomayor, to the senators on both sides of the aisle, and we will have order in this room. >> thank you, senator leahy. >> senator franken? >> thank you, mr. chairman. what i was saying, is this is the first hearing since 1965 that senator kennedy has not been present and i know he's off the committee now, but we do miss his presence. these televised hearings over the years have taught americans a lot about our constitution and the role that the courts play in upholding and defending it. i look forward to listening to all of your questions and the issues that you and your constituents care about. judge sotomayor, welcome. over the next few days, i expect to learn from you as well. as has been said, you are the most experienced nominee to the supreme court in 100 years, and after meeting you in my office last week, i know that you're not just an outstanding jurist but an exceptional in

once senator cardin isfinished, weill take at-minute break >> judge sotomayor, welco to the united states senate. i think you'll findach member of this committeeand each mber of the united state senate wants to dohat is right for our countr we may differ on somef our views as wilcome out during this heari but ithink we all share respect for your. service and thank you f your willingness to sve on the supreme courof the united states and we thank your family for the sacrifices that they have made. i am honored to represent the people of maran in the unit states senate and to serve on the jiciary committee as we conser one of our most important responsibilities whether we shoulcommend to thfu senate, the coirmation of judge sonia sotomayor to be an associate justice of the supreme court o the unitedtates. theext term of supreme court that begins in october will likely consir fundamenta issues impacthe lives of all american citizens there are many important desions decided by the supreme court by 5-4 vot each jusce can play a cital role i confirming the needest conseps in our nation' highest court.

tonight when we go to sleep, you can sleep soundly as a united states congressman or a united states senator, because if you wake up in the morning with a health care crisis, there's nothing to worry about financially. we are well-protected and taken care of. unfortunately, for millions of our fellow citizens all across this country, they cannot sleep as soundly as we do and they're the ones that we ought to be thinking about in this debate. not whether or not we've got some coalition that's going to produce some magical result. keep our eye on the ball. the american people are expecting nothing less from us. and for far too often, of course, we have failed in this efforts that have been defeated by nothing more than cheap politics in too muc too many in, the well-being of our citizens left to drown in today's political courage. all the while we have paid, of course, a deep, deep price for that ditch that we are in, a ditch that's growing. american families pay an average of $1,100 extra -- $1, 100 extra. if you're buying -- if you've bought insurance and you have an insurance policy, by and

obviously enjoys being a united states senator but enjoys being a photographer. on a much more serious note, senator jon kyl, republican of arizona, grilled the supreme court justice nominee for some time on this whole issue of whether she makes decisions from the bench based on what is in her heart rather than simply the law of the land. listen to her response. >> the words i chose, taking the rhetorical floor, a bad idea. i do understand that there are some who have read this differently. i understand why they might have concerns. i have repeated more than once and i will repeat throughout, if you look at my history on the bench, you will know that i do not believe that any ethnic gender or race group has an advantage in sound judging. >> clear statement from sonya sotomayor in the aftermath of all the uproar over that wise latino comment she made. >> she may have to back away from it some more. we have some republicans that are going to talk. this is clearly the one thing that they are trying to wrap around some of these court decisions, saying, well, you know,

al franken was officially sworn in as a united states senator. now aside from appearing on "saturday night live" and hosting a radio show that nobody listened to, you may not know what qualifies him tore a senator. so tonight we thought we'd give you a refresher on senator stuart smalley's impressive resume. take a look. >> i'm good enough, i'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me. >> i [beep] you all night long, sighed the pouty sex kitten. >> which is probably why a -- i became a sort of guru of the self-help movement. well, that's the smally family. we're, you know, dysfunction 5789 sean: look on the bright side, minnesota. only six short years to go. now that stuart smalley is a u.s. senator, more unqualified hollywood liberals are considering running for office. left wing actor and father of the year alec baldwin sat down with playboying -- magazine and was asked about running for congress. keep in mind this is the man caught on tape calling his 11-year-old daughter a rude, thoughtless little pig just a few years ago the call me craz

state senator. he's not even barack obama united states senator. he's not even barack obama democratic nominee. this is the president of the united states whose every word is watched worldwide, and i think that requires a frightening level of that he's spending too much money, most people think that obama care is a bad idea, so he's losing support. why do you think he's losing it, and what would he need to maybe gain some of that back? >> i think they have two very big problems. both of them very hard to solve. the first is the economy's really bad. as i said a while ago, the federal reserve now projects higher unemployment than they thought, and they project that we may not create any net new jobs for the next five years. people are not going to tolerate that. this is jimmy carter time. people are going to be very, very upset if this administration doesn't get an effective jobs program, and that means the opposite direction from the energy tax, health tax, big government model that trapped him. the second challenge they have is the one that you kept talking about all last year where you were r

his son now serves in the united states senate. our founding fathers made freedom of religion a priority, equal protection of all races to achieve. -- took longer to achieve. i attended a school that was part of a segregated school system. i remember with great sadness how discrimination was not only condoned, but more often than not, encouraged, against blacks, jews, catholics, and other minorities. there were neighborhoods that my parents wanted me to avoid for fear of safety because i was jewish. the local movie theater denied admission to african-americans. community swimming pools have signs that said no jews or blacks allowed. sports clubs were segregated by race. then came from the board of education and suddenly my universe and community were changed forever. the decision to move our nation forward by correcting wrongs that were built into the law. it brought into the forefront of our nation's consciousness a great future jurist from baltimore, through good martial. he went on to represent the clintons in brown v. board of

again, a senator sessns and i have said, this is the meeti of the unit states senate. we'll sh respect to everybody who isere. we will show respect to everybody here a certainly to judgesotomayor, to the senators on both sides of t aisle and weill have oer in this room. >> thank you,senato leahy. >> thank you. senator franken, please. >> ank you, mr. chairman. what i was saying this is the first hearing since 1965 tat senator kendy has not been present and i know he'sff the committee now, but we do miss his presence. thestelevised hearings have taught americans a lot aboutur constitution and the ro the courts play in upholding and defending it. i look forward to listening to all of your qstions and the issues that y and your constituents care abt. to judge sotayor. welcome. over the next few days, i expect to learn from you as wel as been said, you're theost perienced ninee to the sueme court in 100 year and after meeting you in my offce last week, i know you're not just an outandingjudge, but anexceptional individual. your story is inspirational, o whicall americans sh

i believe we need a select committee in the united states senate. "the new york times" said in an editorial, nothing can substitute for the work senate must do itself. i say that because we now have in recent days additional news items in the paper that you read here. let me just pick one and i don't mean to pick this company out just to be punitive, but it's just a good example in recent days. wells fargo. now, wells fargo is an fdic insured bank. wells fargo to expand securities business. wells fargo will announce an expansion in its security business. it plans to grow and invest in securities that it largely inherited from wachovia. the business is to be called wells fargo securities. what is wachovia? wachovia is a bank that was failing because wachovia had all kinds of problems. wachovia was a bank that had purchased gold enwest financial, which -- golden west financial, which had $120 billion, we're told in toxic option adjustable rate mortgages. by the may, related to this, i saw in the newspapers the other day, that pick your payment mortga

now he has the honor and the responsibility to serve them in the united states capitol. the united states senate is an old and established institution. for any newcomer it takes some getting used to, to th to the ue customs. this is a big moment for frannie and their kids. al and his friends and relatives have been waiting for a while for this. the state has been waiting. the senate has been waiting. but most importantly to me, frannie has been waiting. my favorite image of the last few months was the idea she had actually packed a bag with her toothbrush in it that she had right next to her bedside in case at any moment the court would come with a decision and she and al would have to rush to washington so he could take a critical vote. well, today, the time has come and al will cast his first vote. if there is any silver lining to the past eight months, it is that al has had time to prepare for this moment. the times are tumultuous, the stakes are high and history will forever judge whether we fail or succeed, whether we are courageous or timid. al franken is ready nor this job. it's time to g

united states. a second positive development is in the senate finance committee, we have a bipartisan group of six unitedtates senators. they are putting in killer hours at this point. i've been kidding them that i suspect they're being fed intra venusly, but they are trying to put together a bipartisan health reform effort, and i appreciate what they're doing. and, third, i note my good friend from utah on the floor of the senate this morning. he and i have made it clear that the sponsors of the healthy americans act -- there are 15 of us, it is a bipartisan group -- we are very open that working with chairman baucus, chairman dodd, the president of the united states in a bipartisan fashion to fix health care. so the question then front and center in all of these discussions with the president, with the bipartisan group in the finance committee, with the bipartisan group that senator bennett and i are part of, with the sponsors of the healthy americans act, puts front and center the question of how you control costs in health care. what are you going to do to make health care more affordable? and it is

we have written in the energy committee near the united states senate a new energy bill. -- here in the united states senate a new energy bill. it was completed some weeks ago. passed with bipartisan support in that committee. let me describe a bit of what we have done in that energy bill. we reduced our dependence on foreign oil. we increase domestic production of domestic electricity. electricity in diversifying our -- oh, electrify and diversify our vehicle fleet to move toward a different kind of future. we create a transmission superhighway so you can produce renewable energy where you can best produce it, wind or solar, and put it on the transmission grid to the load center where it is needed. and we train an energy workforce of tomorrow. these are a few things we have done. we established a renewable electricity standard. -- standard of 15%. and it needs to be higher. but the fact is it is the first time that we will have established a standard -- we want to mks miez the production of renewable -- maximize the production of renewable energy. that is green energy in my cases. when

at least any other american who serves today in the united states senate. he was in texas last week and home last week in phoenix, some of our leading institutions to hear what people had to say about it. and i wonder if i could ask the senator from arizona if he heard concern from those in his home state of arizona or those at m.d., anderson in texas about the government getting between the patient and the doctor? mr. mccain: first of all, i would like to thank the senator from tennessee about his leadership on this issue. it's a privilege to serve on the "help" committee with him and his continued involvement in the ongoing discussion and debate about one-sixth of america's gross national prod you the uct hats been vital. i thank my friend from tennessee. could i pick up on what you were just saying? the majority leader criticized republican leader in the house who said america has the best health care system in the world. what the republican leader in the house was saying was the obvious. america has the highest-quality health care in the world. and as th

we will have the respect that should be accorded to both the nominee and to the united states senate. >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank you. you handled this well throughout and i support you 100%. >> thank you. >> senator grassley, we did stop the clock there. i did not take from your time. >> thank you. people always say i have the ability to turn people on. >> maybe you could start over again with your sentence, please. >> where were we? >> i hope i remember where we were. >> okay. >> senator, the right of property owners to have their day in court is a very important one. but there is a corollary to the right to have your day in court which is you have to bring it to court in a timely manner. >> okay. >> because people who are relying on your assertion of rights should know when you're going to make them. and so there's a doctrine called the statute of limitations that says if a party knows or has reason to know of their injury, then that party has to come in to court and raise their arguments within that statute that sets the limits of the action. >> all right. >> in the didden -

president, the senate just voted against the president of the united states -- the presiding officer: the senate will please be in order. mr. mccain: the senate just voted against the president of the united states. i think we should know that, and his recommend daichtion the president, on may 7 of this year, as part of its budget submission, recommended reducing 121 federal programs which was estimated to save the taxpayers $41 billion over the next decade. one of the programs the president hopes to see terminated is the inner city bus security program. so what the senate just did was they told the president of the united states, no, we're sorry; this is a vital program, the inner-city bus security grant program. and i'm sure the folks at -- in maryland at the cavalier coach trailways that got $8,000 and the crystal transport incorporated that got $108,000, there's one in here that's a limousine service that got several how dollars, the rimrock stage got only $8,000. but the busco idas aerostage lines got $139,000 in nebraska. maybe people will take -- maybe they'll take people to vi

we look forward to see that the finance committee does, to get to the floor of the united states senate and tell the people we respect across the country that the united states senate and congress is dealing with the most important issue of the day -- making sure that people in our states have access to health care. today i stand here and think about a young boy that i mentioned at the very beginning of this mark-up, a little boy named marcellus, who lost his mom. she lost her health care because she lost her job. she couldn't see a doctor, and this young boy lost his mom. today we are a step closing to ensuring young boys like marcellus and americans everywhere that they will not be denied health care coverage. >> any questions we have? >> can you give an example of something that -- [inaudible] >> there are numerous things. i went through and identified every republican contribution. judd gregg made a contribution dealing with the solvency of the long care professional. the issue that tom harken worked on to see to it that there would be rewards for employees who took on the responsib

i would focus on t day-to-day constituent work of ing united states senator, g out of the spotlig.pray a hope to god there are no more revelations becausth would be reay crippling. but, y know, if you rewind a day, a lot of peop were saying looks like ensign got through this becse we hadn't heard anything new. so now tre's this huge new bombshell which they should have taken care of a few weeks ago when this first came up. i think if tre'shing new, this is neda, voters are fairly lertarian, you know. it's home of las vegas, what happens in vegastays in vegas. theye very understanding, nevada voters, but they haveot to contain this. >> steve, quick, oneord answer, good ia for the democrats to bring this to the senate ethics coite to check out what ensign was up to with his senate payroll? good idea for the democrs to do that, yes or no? >> i'm not se they're going to ve any choice because someone is going to file comnt and it's going tend up there. >> all rig, stau steve mcmahon and todd harris. up next, wondering what it means to pull a palin? it's one of the newest entries in the

standard for ourcommission because the pikora commission which w actually a committ of the unite states senate did such an outstanding job of analysis and then pscription. are gng into thi ten membs, republicans and democrats with the goal of havi a report,hich will do a though analysis of wha has happened because the ameran people have en severy damad by the exrience of the la year. and what can we contribute to avoiding a repition. >> suzanne now, by the time your commission makes its rulings or giveits report, it will be the end of next year, if i'm not mistaken, crect, the end of 2010. >> december of 2010 is our final date to port. >> suzanne correct. do youelieve it's going to by then already be business as usual on wall street? i mean, isn't going to rt of a bit late to be ming these recommendations? >> no. weon'tant to be a commission th delays the proces of dealing with current problems. we look forward to assisting the congre and the treasury and the whitehouses they collectivelyake decisions. wh we wan to do is bui a record of what has happened to the american economy and then make r

appointed illinois senator roland burris who to president ama's seat in the united states senate, has announced that he has decided not to seek election to that seat next year in 2010. thchicago sun times is reporting buis willannounce his decision tomorw. we'll ve more l in the hour. time now for the "sideshow. >>> first up, presintial gifts at the g-8 sit are not as diplomatic as you might expect. consider brazil's gift to esident obama. lastonth the american soccer team was on the v ver of a major upsese up 2-0 at lftime ainst the brazilians. t the u.s. endedwith a touou 3-3-2 loss. so fast foforwdd too this morni, bro zil's presidenent gave bar oboba a big brazaziaian scece jersey sieded by thehentire teamam. according g tohehe ppredent's spokesman obama leftft ee meetig vowing gooddaturedly that thehe amicican would n lose a 2-0 lead again. >>> nee up, how this f foa quick k turnarouound urn dictionary, whi is hipper than wwster's, has already got entryy referencing governor sarah palinin'strange annonouncentntast week thatt she's resigning.g. they're using t phrase "pulling a pa

. >>> the united states senate will soon take up legislative vital to the prevention of the spread of newt gingrich's plan to topple the regime in iran by sabotaging that nation's only gas refinery. what do you mean it has nine gas refineries? oops. >>> and when rachel joins you at the top of the hour, her special guest colonel lawrence wilkerson on dick cheney's ability to keep a secret cia program -- i don't think that's the right tape -- there he is -- secret there congress. ♪ on this endless ocean ♪ finally lovers know no shame ♪ ♪ watching in slow motion ♪ as you turn to me and say ♪ take my breath away (announcer) ge locomotives. customers love them almost as much as we love making them. ♪ my love (announcer) innovation today for america's tomorrow. >>> "worst," newt gingrich, super genius has a plan to topple ahmadinejad to destroy their only gas refinery. until the interviewer reveals they have nine gas refineries. and a major suing to avoid going to afghanistan because he says obama is not really president. that's why you don't want to get sent to afghanistan. >>> and the sen

what really matters switch to suntrust checking today >>> al franken finally made debut as a united states senatorllowing heightly disputed eight month long recount out in minnesota. former vice president, walter mondale escorted franken, joe biden, vice president, swore him in. franken wants to be known as minnesota's second senator not just the 60th vote that could give democrats a so-called filibuster proof majority. >>> in alaska, sarah palin's decision to resign shocked some of her state's biggest politici politicians. the senator tells the hill newspaper he met with palin two days before her announcement. she gave no indication sunny was planning to step down as the two discussed state issues to. day was palin's first day at work since announcing. in interviews today she did not rule out a possible presidential run. >>> the cost of grocery shopping in the district will go up a teensy bit. the mayor signed a bill putting a 5 cent tax on every disposable bag used at grocery, drug, liquor, convenience stores. it's mint eant to encourage usi reusable bag and cut down on the litter that end up in

. >>> the united states senate will soon take up legislative vital to the prevention of the spread of genetically engineered man-cows. seriously. >>> and newt gingrich's plan to topple the regime in iran by sabotaging that nation's only gas refinery. what do you mean it has nine gas refineries? oops. >>> and when rachel joins you at the top of the hour, her special guest, general colin wilkerson on dick cheney's ability to keep a secret cia program -- i don't think that's the right tape -- there he is -- secret there congress. access to favorite courses chef's meal with pommes frites perhaps a night at the theater with extra special seats additional hotel night, our treat your world in perfect harmony: priceless look for world on your mastercard to get rewards and offers that matter to you. an eleven sixteenths wrench over here? here you go. eleven sixteenths... (announcer) from designing some of the world's cleanest and most fuel-efficient jet engines... to building more wind turbines than anyone in the country... the people of ge are working together... creating innovation today for

. >>> the united states senate will soon take up legislative vital to the prevention of the spread ofally engineered man-cows. seriously. >>> and newt gingrich's plan to topple the regime in iran by sabotaging that nation's only gas refinery. what do you mean it has nine gas refineries? oops. >>> and when rachel joins you at the top of the hour, her special guest colonel lawrence wilkerson on dick cheney's ability to keep a secret cia program -- i don't think that's the right tape -- there is he -- secret from congress. in the history of professional tennis. so i've come to this court to challenge his speed. ...on the internet. i'll be using the 3g at&t laptopconnect card. he won't. so i can book travel plans faster, check my account balances faster. all on the go. i'm bill kurtis and i'm faster than andy roddick. (announcer) "switch to the nations fastest 3g network" "and get the at&t laptopconnect card for free". come on in. you're invited to the chevy open house. where getting a new vehicle is easy. because the price on the tag is the price you pay on remaining '08 and '09 models.

why 60 doesn't always equal 60 in the united states senate? >>> plus, the latest tweaks from sarah palin. we begin tonight with the battle over health care reform. kelly o'connell is joining us from capitol hill. also with us is washingtonpost.com's chris zolana. let's listen to what president obama had to say this afternoon. >> now we have to get over the finish line and part of this process is figuring out how to pay for it. i have said that health insurance reform cannot add to our deficit over the next decade, and i mean it. >> now, it seems to me that this was a direct response to what ceo director douglas elvandorf had to say while testifies on thursday. we'll listen to that. >> we do not see the sort of fundamental changes that would be necessary to reduce the trajectory of federal health spending amounts. and on the contrary, the legislation significantly expands the federal responsibility for health care costs. >> kelly o'connell, the president came up with an unscheduled statement about health care today. was it in direct response to

the health committee, which is known as the help committee, but the health committee in the united states senate has been going over this bill doing what's called markup and the senate historian says he doesn't remember any committee spending as long doing a markup as the senate health committee has done and as the president pointed out over 160 amendments have been accepted from republicans on the house side and the last two years we've had 79 congressional hearings on health care. this is, you know, we're -- both sides are able to call witnesses. both sides get a chance to be heard. this is not something where one side is trying to ram it through. we really have had a real bipartisan effort. right now as we get really close and it looks like it's going to happen they are pulling out the big guns which is why the republican pollster suggests distorting the facts. let me say to the american public, and this is really important, if you hear somebody saying we can't afford health care reform because if they use any of these words, socialization or government control of your health care decisions,

we'll explain what that senator was talking about on the floor of the united states senate. this is msnbc, the place for politics. but did you know you also get hotel price assurance? it's a one-two punch of savings -- pow! pow! lower hotel booking fees mean you get a lower total price. plus, if another orbitz customer then books the same hotel for less, we send you a check for the difference, automatically. a day on the days that you have arthritis pain, you could end up taking 4 times the number... of pills compared to aleve. choose aleve and you could start taking fewer pills. just 2 aleve have the strength... to relieve arthris pain all day. >>> welcome back. new details today in the michael jackson death investigation. >> david, the doctor who reportedly tried to revive the pop star on the day he died is now the main target of manslaughter probe. dr. conrad murray has not been arrested, but investigators have searched his office in houston, texas, and police are still waiting for results from the coroner's office. joining us with more, courtney hazlett from msnbc.com's

as we have said, this is the united states senate. we will show respect to everybody was here. we will show respect to everybody here, and certainly to judge sotomayor, the senators on both sides of the aisle, and we will have order in this room. senator franken. >> thank you. this is the first hearing since 1965 that senator kennedy has not been present. i know he is off the committee now, but we do miss his presence. these televised hearings have told america a lot about our constitution and the role that the courts play in upholding and defending it. i look forward to listening to all of your questions and the issues the u.s. your constituents care about. to judge sotomayor, welcome. i expect to learn from you as well. as has been said, you are the most experienced nominee to the supreme court in 100 years. after meeting you in my office last week, i know you're not to stay an outstanding jurist, but an exceptional individual. as others have said, your story is inspirational and one which all americans should take great pride in. i welcome your family as well. as most of you

two years here, a chance to go across the street for rather historic dinner, members of the united states senate sit down with the members of the u.s. supreme court. we look forward to it, it's tradition that's maybe six or eight years old, mr. chairman, i don't think much older. great tradition. we get to meet them, they get to meet us. i sat down with one supreme court justice, i won't name this person, but i said at the time that i was chairing a crime subcommittee in judiciary and said to this justice, what topic do you think i should be looking in to as a senator when it comes to justice in the united states, this justice said, our system of corrections and incarceration in america. it has to be the worst. it's hard to imagine how it couldqé be much worse if we trid to design it that way. today in the united states, 2.3 million people are in prison. we have the most prisoners of any country in the world, as well as the highest per capita rate of prisoners in the world. in america today, african americans are incarcerated six times the rate of white americans. now there's one significant rea

you'll be surprised in 2010 with the comeback we are going to make here in the united states senate.>> are the obituaries for the republican party premature? yes or no? >> yes, they are, john. if we are seeing a seat change in america's relationship to the government, you wouldn't see the kind of numbers about the concerns about the deficit. this thing is very much in play. >> james is sending out fund raising appeal. saying it could happen again. we had a young president, we have big democratic majorities and look what happened in '04. >> a majority of independent voters are concerned about the debt. i think the overreach by the democrats is going to play to the advantage of the republicans. >> i agree. it swings back and forth and you are going to see people who have skepticism, but i remember when democrats were out in the wilderness like the republicans are now, it happens. >> republicans. see you in a minute. we'll be right back. oi the mclaughlin ( rock music playing ) this is about a new, more efficient luxury hybrid continuing to produce 70% fewer smog-forming emissions while

standard for our mmission because the pikora commission which wasctually a committee of the united states senate did such an outstanding job of analysis and then preription. we are goi into this, ten member republicans and democrats withthe goal of having report, wch will do a thorgh analysis of what has happened because the americ people have be severel damageby the expeence ofthe lastear. d what can we contribute to avoiding a repetion. >> suzanne: now, by the time yourommission makests rulings or gives s report, it will be the endf nextear, if m not mistaken, corct, the end of 2010. december of 2010 is our final date to rert. >> suzanne: orrect. do you bieve it's goingto by then already be business as usual on wall street? i mean, isn't it going to be so of a bit late to be makg these recommendations? >> no. we d't wt to be a commission thatelays the process of dealing with current problems. welookorward to assisting the congress and the treasurynd the whitehouse a they collectively me decisions. whate want to do is build a record of what has happened to the american economy and then make rec

the health committee, which is known as the help committee, but the health committee in the united states senatet's called markup and the senate historian says he doesn't remember any committee spending as long doing a markup as the senate health committee has done and as the president pointed out over 160 amendments have been accepted from republicans on the house side and the last two years we've had 79 congressional hearings on health care. this is, you know, we're -- both sides are able to call witnesses. both sides get a chance to be heard. this is not something where one side is trying to ram it through. we really have had a real bipartisan effort. right now as we get really close and it looks like it's going to happen they are pulling out the big guns which is why the republican pollster suggests distorting the facts. let me say to the american public, and this is really important, if you hear somebody saying we can't afford health care reform because if they use any of these words, socialization or government control of your health care decisions, or if they mention england, france, or c

i've been representing the wonderful people of illinois and how important the united states senate isuture of our country. i was named to the senate back in december and i stated that i would serve a two-year term. i felt strongly at the time that we needed full time centers. i still feel left with. i have served the people of this state of 30 years. public service means working, advocating, and fighting for your constituents and their needs. day in and day out. that has been my commitment. i will try to do that every day of my career. we have a new president. the whole idea of the program dealing with help her, the economy, jobs, schools, and the environment. these are all important issues for the people of our state and nation. i am proud to follow in these cassettes in the senate and of the ford to working with him on the pressing issues of our times. united states senate will be at the center of debate for all of those issues. i had been a member of that for seven months. i have seen firsthand that my colleagues are thoughtful, dedicated, and americans. it is my hope that we can c

that is something that senator obama raised when he was in the united states senate. went back, i think it was in justice robert's case, and said, looking back at your former speeches, it seems that perhaps your judicial activism philosophy does not agree. they were just copying president obama. >> i sense she's had 3,000 decisions, 3,000 cases, they never talked about that. >> you know what, bill -- >> let me get jack rice in here. jack, i think you come from a profession where keeping your cool is pretty important. did she pass the test today? >> yeah. i'm with you, actually. i'm kind of shocked she didn't jump up off the table and land on half the people on the bench. it's shocking here. i really think that the republicans are making a mistake here. they're going to lose this fight. they know they're going to lose this fight. this is clearly about one thing. it's about scoring political points right now. if what they're doing is pandering to rush limbaugh, sessions may have won. if he's trying to convince the rest of america he's mainstream, he may have a very seri

will need republican help to push president obama's health care overhaul plan through the united states senate. right now, that bill is stalled. > behind the scenes, senator ted kennedy, a man who has called this his life's work, is playing a surprisingly large role, despite his brain tumor. here's john hendren. >> reporter: senator edward kennedy is the missing man in the battle for health care reform. on capitol hill, nearly everyone agrees things would be different if the liberal lion were here. >> he's the only person i know that can corral them and get them to do what's right. he's willing to come to the center. he's willing to make it a true bipartisan bill. >> reporter: as he stays home in massachusetts for treatment of a brain tumor, and an occasional sail, colleagues say kennedy is closely monitoring the health care debate on c-span and e-mail. but his influence is said to be limited by his increasing difficulty communicating. today, the health care reform he calls "the cause of my life," is stalled. and with some democrats wavering in their support, the senate is nearly certain to mi

but i believe we have an obligation, madam president, as united states senators at this moment in our history to rise to that challenge and not to fail as others have in years past because it's too hard much there was a great line that edward r.muro once used when talking about another subject matter he said that one excuse history will never forgive you for is the problem was too difficult. i don't think history will forgive us if the answer was just too hard, we just couldn't figure out how to come together. i think that history will judge us harshly if that is the excuse we use for not rising to the moment and dealing with the issue. it can never be too difficult. it's hard but we ought to have the ability to help resolve this issue. that is my plea today and i thank the presiding officer and yield the floor and would note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from new york. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent the quorum be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection

. >>> the united states capitol united states the senate judiciary committee hearing room, the senate hart office building. they're continuing questioning of sonia sotomayor. amy klobuchar is asking some of those questions. we'll continue our coverage in a moment. >>> but there's other important news unfolding right now. cnn's tony harris is joining us with that. tony? >> yeah, good to see you, wolf. thank you. >>> here's what's happening right now in the news -- the senate health committee has just passed legislation to overhaul health care. the $600 billion measure would expand coverage to almost all americans by requiring individuals get insurance and employers to help foot the bill. as expected, the vote was along party lines. republicans, unanimous in opposition. >> all of us republicans are committed to the prospect that we need to reform health care in america. but our principle and our fundamental belief is that health care has to be available and affordable, and the problem with health care is not the quality of health care in america, it is the cost of health care. let me po

part of our history and only became elected later and so you had a tradition of appointing united states senatorsbut not a tradition of house members. somehow you have to overcome that and the united states has to be amended so that if large numbers of the house are killed, are permanently incapacitated that they can be replaced by appointments by their governors of their states. it's the only thing that makes any sense. secondly, on the question of congressional succession, i don't support taking congressional leaders out of the line of succession. first of all, you probably won't get anything passed if you take them out. secondly, i think it makes good sense to have congressional leaders in the line of succession. they've dealt with a wide range of issues in their current positions. most of them -- you don't get to be a leader in congress without having served many years in the legislative branch. i do think there's a technical issue you could very easily address that is recommended in the report that you designate the majority leader as president pro tem so you don't have a situation with an a

united states. not changing the die nm yiks the court would apply. we think when we are proposing will pass muster in the united states. senator we are not suggesting that the full range we would apply depending on location. we have referring to voluntariness. when you look at the suggestion of the administration on, it's really not that different from what admiral mcdonald has described. >> this really comes down to that light. bringing the the military commission in terms of additional constitutional rights should not matter. i think we probably can reach some common ground between when i would consider to be a balancing test using voluntariness and what the administration is using right now. thank you. senator lieberman >> thank you, senator. senator levin asked a request of why would you try any of these people in a military commission setting as our bill requires? i thought your answer was compelling and principal. i want to ask the question of why would anyone prefer to try people apprehended. i was disappointed in your answer and it pulled me back a little about my feeling and accepting the role for the military commiss