citizens of the state of wyoming. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlelady from hawaii ms. hirono, and the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. thompson, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlelady from hawaii. ms. hirono: mr. speaker, i request five legislative days during which members may revise and extend and insert extraneous material on h.res. 696 into the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. hirono: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. hirono: mr. speaker, i rise today in support of h.res. 696 which celebrates western wyoming's community college 50th year of service to the students and state of weo ming. established in 1959 alogical citizens committee and general election led to western wyoming community college. beginning with only 40 community college students and occupying the local high school facilities, the wwcc has emerged as a vital part of the southwestern wyoming community that pr

>> it's based on dating of the strata that are out in wyoming, worland, wyoming, home of butch cassidy and the sun daps kid. you can date those profiles and you can measure the isotopes in the layers. you can see where the sources of carbon came from. you can see for example, that was about the time that mammals were beginning to make a run after the dinosaurs were gone. they disappeared. mammals came in and some of the mammals survived that period, they were really tiny. there were horses the size of cats roaming around at that time. so you can see a lot of very interesting things going on in that period. >> one of the things you did at georgia tech was to internationalize the institution. how do you see that translating at the smithsonian? is it a global institution? >> it is in a way because we like to see we were in 90 different countries in our activities, some of which represent physical platforms. in panama or in chile, the great telescopes, or in a place i visited recently, we monitor the health of these magnificent creatures. i think the interesting thing is a twist is we are

. >> narrator: wyoming elk hunting is next. [rock music] >> right there. >> that's what that... >> yeah, baby. >> oh, my god. it's opening day. captioning by captionmax www.captionmax.com >> jordan: hi, i'm bill jordan, and welcome to realtree outdoors. after all these many years, i finally got drawn for a wyoming elk hunt, and i am superexcited. we're gonna be hunting the famous wagonhound ranch in wyoming, lots of big elk. realtree outdoors starts right now. you know, i was absolutely ecstatic when i found out that i got drawn for a wyoming elk hunt. i have never hunted elk in wyoming, and i was really excited, and when we started looking around about a place to hunt, a place called the wagonhound ranch came up, and i had known my good friend michael waddell had gone to wagonhound three years earlier and had taken a magnificent bull. [gunshot] >> that's what we were looking for right there, wasn't it, boys? >> jordan: now, wagonhound is located on the east side of the state just outside of douglas, wyoming. this area of wyomi

so i think in a state like wyoming where rural health care is a big issue because of the availability of physicians, making sure that physicians are adequately compensated is a huge issue. >> ifill: donna edwards obviously you heard different things in a largely urban district than sipt i can't lummis heard in a largely rural district. >> it proves exactly how different all of the 435 congressional districts are. i mean i heard really strong sentiment in my district where, you know, 85-90% of people actually have health insurance already but they actually like the idea of a government- provided health care plan that competes in the private market because they think it will bring down their costs and that there will be increased competition and accountability for the system. i heard a lot of complaints about the insurance industry. and the role that insurers play in getting in between them and their doctors. i mean, i think we can get a lot of messages across the country in these different districts. the challenge in the congress obviously is to try to pull all of this together so that

>> in wyoming i have found that people are verytrongly opsed to a goverent option or govnment-run health care. there's great ccern that there wl increased bureaucracies, that the costs will not dp, and that we will actually have bureaucracs between ourselveand our physicians. i've also hed physicians say that they're reimbursed at what are now medicare rates, a lot of themhat are my age, their 50s, wilust rire instead of accept below-cost compensation for wh they do. so i think in a state like wyominwhere rural health care is a big iss because of th availability of physicians, making se that physians are adequately compensated is huge issue. >> ill: donna edwards obviously you hed different things in a largely urban district than sipt i can't lummis heard in a largely ruradistrict. >> it provesxactly how differenall of the 435 congreional districts are. i mean i heard really strg sentiment in my district where, you know 85-90% of peop actually hav health insurance already but ey actually like the idea of a govement- proved healthcare plan that competes in e private market because they th

. >> this group is from wyoming.nd they all made the trip for free, thanks to ankers o called honor -- thanks to an organization out here called honor site. >> to see the memorial who theying might not otherwise get to do it. >> claiming 68 missions is the world war ii fighter pilot. now, he's on the board of directors for that. >> many of these people have not been out of the state of wyoming or maybe not even out of their own communities since world war ii. to bring them here, it's a wonderful thing. they are one of the few survivors still alive. this is the wyoming honor flight, the second trip to the memorial. 9news now and wusa -- wusa9.com. >>> just log onto wusa9.com and click on the hero's central button and tell us all about that person. >>> a little bit of broadway is coming to washington. producers of the lion king are donating two of the show's elaborate costumes for the national museum of the american history. the items include simba's mask. they will be among 50 objects from broadway, including costumes

go to wyoming -- >> we'll get to wyoming in a second.to that last point. it may not be perfect, senator, but you know what? everybody has health care, everybody has health insurance in canada. no one needs to simply go to an emergency room at a hospital to get treated for relatively minor injuries? >> but in british columbia the average wait to see a primary care doctor is four months and the wait then once you see that person, to see a specialist is another four months. i'm an orthopedic surgeon who has operated on people who come from canada and t. and the availability, people don't want to wait. that's why people with cancer from other countries come to the united states because the wait time is less, the screening is better, very few women in canada have mammograms compared to the united states so the detection of the cancer, it takes longer and then the life expectancy after that cancer is diagnosed is less than in canada than it is in the united states. >> how do you explain that people live longer in canada than they do in the uni

we had 3000 in wyoming.niversity medical lab area. incredible, stated the are, doctors all around the country and maybe around the world are going to come there to learn to do with computer simulation, surgery. i'm an orthopedic surgeon for 25 years. it is beautiful what they have there. cardiologists learn how to put stents in the heart, taking out all platters, learning how to resuscitate prefer nurses and doctors, it is absolutely incredible. and they also have a program to help train physicians to travel -- to work in rural louisiana, to help put their tuition so that they will stay after they learned, to be the primary care doctors that we need in this country and in all of our rural areas. i think medicare advantage is very important. i also had the privilege to look at the community health center that tulane has. data not just toward their, 25 different community groups together, and it is a labor of love by these doctors and nurses, helping their community. it talks about the people in this community

that's in the northwestern corner of wyoming. this was sent in by tom robinson and it was taken by the weather service web cam. check that out. that is huge. the fire has been burning for about two weeks. they're letting it go. it's not going to endanger any structures, which is good. it's more of a controlled burn at this point, but look at that. that's a gorgeous shot. >> it is. we'll talk to you soon. >>> well, movie actors and directors and producers are all coming together to support roman polanski. even the french government is on his side. what is next for the man who pleaded guilty to having sex with a teenage girl? >>> also -- >> this will be the proverbial first shot fired in the american revolution. >> a bank boosted that woman's interest rates, so she took it to youtube and got quite the response. >>> a powerful earthquake has hit western indonesia. the gee logical survey says the poipt magnitude is 7.6. it was originally reported at 7.9. now there is a tsunami watch for indonesia, malaysia and thailand. we'll get you

. >> pennsylvania congresswoman allison schwarts and congresswoman cynthia loomis of wyoming join me great to see you both. orrin hatch sent a letter today and said this is not a republican or a democratic issue it is an american issue. do you think that your democratic and your republican colleagues can work together? do you want to see a health care reform bill passed? >> i do want to see a health care reform bill passed. i want to see us address the 20% or less of americans that are truly unhappy with their health care insurance or cannot afford health care insurance, or have for the ability problems because they have pre-existing conditions. i want to leave the 80% of americans happy with their health care and health insurance alone. >> congresswoman schwartz, i get a lot of e-mail from folks saying i don't understand what the reluctancesome my insurance company is deciding for me which doctors i can see, what treatments i can have. they are already are people who are deciding instead of my doctor what's best for me. how do you cons convince people on the other side of the aisle

we did it in wyoming. there are things you can do, about 25 states have proposals that work. and i think you can find the best ideas there and incorporate those because the president said he wanted to get ideas from other people. >> we're making progress, senator, because no other republicans have said what you just said on this program. here's question number two, people who have insurance and all of a sudden get sick have been canceled by insurance companies. the president wants to make that move by insurance companies against the law. are you going to support him on that? >> i agree with the president. if somebody already has insurance, and becomes ill, my wife is a breast cancer survivor, she's been through three operations, two full bouts of chemo therapy. i would absolutely be offended if somebody tried to drop her because she has breast cancer for insurance he's already had. it's absolutely wrong and shouldn't happen in america. >> it won't happen because you're in the united states senate. that's just a fact, that's not a cheap shot. >> i wasn't in the senate at the t

what will i do if wyoming winds up without a provider? one of these solutions was thrown out there was having a program that would be done by the government that would be a backup in case there were not two companies that provided the insurance. we provided a lot of incentives for people to do it and i never had to worry about that because 49 companies wanted the business in wyoming. we went fromtwo to 49. it brought down the prices by 37% before it started. it has been below ever since it started. every time i went around the state and i did a bunch of town hall meetings to get people to sign up for this. if you don't sign up, then you start paying a penalty. i am pleased that my amin was one of the record states for a signing up, -- i am pleased that wyoming was one of the record states for signing up. their first question was how come i cannot get the drugs i want? how come i can i get the drugs my doctor is prescribing? the program had not started so i said i bet you are a veteran. they would say yes, how did you know? i said the vete

you create an exchange in wyoming, what have you really changed?i understand insurance reform. >> essentially, the issue, you're going back to my conversation with this gentleman, about what you need with a real competitor and senator darnl's argument about a public plan or leadership in bringing costs down in general. i'd say you need another competitor in that exchange. that's what you were looking for. you do and that's the goal of a public option. >> if i -- i was just going to say, judy put her fixer on the most important -- her finger on the most important thing, to create an exchange that allows for a lot more competition than we have today. the exchange concept, i'm from a small state, south dakota, i would argue it may be too small to create an exchange in a state with a few hundred thousand people, like wyoming or south dakota. so it may be that regional exchanges make more sense so that you increase the leverage and increase the actuarial advantage that comes with larger numbers. that's the most important step. we also have, as with wyom

what will i do if wyoming winds up without a provider? one of these solutions was thrown out there was having a program that would be done by the government that would be a backup in case there were not two companies that provided the insurance. we provided a lot of incentives for people to do it and i never had to worry about that because 49 companies wanted the business in wyoming. we went fromtwo to 49. it brought down the prices by 37% before it started. it has been below ever since it started. every time i went around the state and i did a bunch of town hall meetings to get people to sign up for this. if you don't sign up, then you start paying a penalty. i am pleased that my amin was one of the record states for a signing up, -- i am pleased that wyoming was one of the record states for signing up. their first question was how come i cannot get the drugs i want? how come i can i get the drugs my doctor is prescribing? the program had not started so i said i bet you are a veteran. they would say yes, how did you know? i said the vete

the junior senator from wyoming, a pleasure. nice to see you. >>> contessa, what is going on, particularly with the police in atlanta? >> yeah, i will get to that. but first a colorado man is heading to court along with his father and a new york city ae mum all charged with lying to authorities in a terror investigation. authorities are working to unravel the details of their alleged plot. pete, what are you learning in washington? >> we will see all of them in court today. the man at the center of this case, najibullah zazi along with his father, and a figure head in the local muslim community in queens, they will be in court faced with a single charge of lying to federal investigators who are trying to get to the bottom of the case. these are not terrorism charges, but federal authorities made no mystery of the fact that they believe this is definitely a terrorism case. they found that the young er zai was lying about explosives. there will be more charges filed. at this point i think it's important to note the authorities adm

i want to say this was the wyoming honor flights sec trip to the memorial. they hope to raise enough funds to make a trip next may. best of luck to them. >> tremendous work they are doing effort i want to say really quick, tomorrow morning high school heros continues. last week we were at jeb stewart high school. and tomorrow i'm profiling a varsity football coach of 27 years. he's an amazing -- he's an amazing coach. it is a good story. >> thank you. >>> here's what is in the news now, a census worker found hanged in a kentucky forest has the word dead scrolled on his chest. he was found dead earlier this month. the fbi wants to know if he is the victim of antigovernment sentiment. >>> former dnc chairman paul kirk is expected to be appointed to the senate today to replace ted kennedy. he tolds the seat until a special election in january. >>> wind and heat are fans the flames. this is video from overnight from 40 miles northwest of l.a. the fire is now 25 square miles in size. rough situation there. >> the santa ana winds are blowing. the heat going on and

that's between columbia road and wyoming avenue. take connecticut or florida has alternates this morning. move on and jump on the outer loop this morning in maryland at colesville. tracking the brake lights. not too many out there. cars are moving well in that area. and the inner loop, good morning out there, little river turnpike we told you about a disabled vehicle. that has been cleared. no problems between 95 to 66. and finally let's head over to 95 northbound in virginia. all cars are going at speed. back to you guys. >> thank you. >>> in the living well headlines airline workers are more likely than passengers to spread the h1n1 flu virus. health officials say that's because flight attendant and other workers can leave germs on any number of cabin surfaces as they move thoughout the plane. passengers tend to stay in one spot and not touch anything beyond their seat. >>> restaurants in baltimore are no longer allowed to prepare or cook foods with ingredients that have more than a half gram of transfat. the ban took effect today

china immediately bought eight banks and the state of wyoming. china immediately bought eight banks and the state of wyoming. they bought it all. captions paid for by abc, inc. >>> and we begin with the secretary of defense robert gates. welcome back to "this week." >> thank you. >> national security was front and center all week long. let's begin with afghanistan. we saw the leak of general mcchrystal's review. and he concluded that the u.s. has about 12 months to reverse taliban momentum. and without new troops, the strategy laid out by the president would fail. i want to show what the president said back in march when he laid out that strategy. he called it new and comprehensive. >> this marks the conclusion of a careful policy review. my administration has heard from our military commanders as well as diplomats. we consulted with the pakistani and afghan governments. and with other donors and international organizations. we also worked closely with members of congress here at home. >> now this was clearly carefully considered strategy. and no

the fire's burned 9,000 acres in wyoming.ce doesn't expect to have it fully contained before the end of october. >>> nine homeless sex offenders are camping out in a densely wooded area in cobb county, georgia. their campsite is the only option they have. many are broke, unemployed, no nowhere else to go and not only is the state aware of the campsite, probation officers reportedly sent some of them there saying the a last resort. georgia law bans section offenders from living, working, or loitering within a thousand feet of any school, church, spot where children might gather. >>> expect the obama administration to push for longer school days for your kids. american kids need to keep up with kids in other nation. two dozen schools in massachusetts added hours to the school day. early results are positive. other schools are added three to four-week summer programs. >>> a new york teacher went oust her way to help a student. she gave him one of her kidneys. the teacher received the new york state's liberty medal. she never int

john is known by many as the doctor of wyoming. yielding medical society and was named their position of the year. he also served as director of the wyoming health care, bringing a low-cost health screening exams all around the cowboys did, and he also represented a county in byd and state senate for five years. please welcome senator john barrasso. -- and represented a county in wyoming in the state senate for five years. [applause] >> thank you. thank you. >> next, we are delighted to have congressman rodney alexander, representing the fifth congressional district in louisiana. he was chairman of the house health and welfare committee in the louisiana legislature, and in this position, he shepherded through the louisiana children and health insurance program which was a republican initiative initially. although he believes there are areas where we can and should improve our health care system, rodney opposes the current house bill because it sets the tone in washington for a government takeover of the health-care system. welcome,

and now the senator from wyoming, a neighbor to my state of montana, familiar with many subjects and also one of the group of six. i might save everybody here -- say to everyone here that during those meetings you forced us to drill down deeply by asking more precise questions, how does this work, how does that work, what about this, what about that -- and that was probably because you were once a cpa. you're very viable by forcing a second and third level of analysis. >> i appreciate your new calling us the group of six rather than the gang of six, because my mother told me never to join a gang. i want to thank you for your efforts on this issue. i think it is unprecedented and i will talk more about that in a few minutes. i want to discuss some of the key issues on the bill. i do think every american should have the right to choose the health care benefits that best meet their needs. this bill does mandate a level of benefits that will significantly increase the costs of many insurance plans being sold in wyoming and many other states throughout the country. i believe that every am

. >> they say the problem of congressional oversight, the senator from wyoming, russ feingold actually wrote a letter to the president saying you show us exactly how this satisfies the appointment clause of the constitution. it is unconstitutional to make willy-nilly appointments of people like carol bounder. >> you're right. it is very sad in a government that we employ millions of people that they still have to bring in another layer of bureaucracy to deal with this. >> kneel, you want to chime in. >> again, do you really want somebody who is going to be running a big piece of government who is politically connect enough to get through all of congress? we elected president obama to run are the country r let him run are the country and pick who he wants. let these people fail or succeed. >> we don't know again what kind of lobbying money is being put behind any czar behind any president. >> they can pick anyone they want. he doesn't even have to say who it is. we saw that in the last administration. >> then don't pay them! >> these are sheeper agents from some foreign governments. thi

. >>> we know traffic can get hectic across baltimore, but in wyoming, drivers spent half the day stuck on the interstate after a rig crashed into another car. the rig hit the bridge deck, rolled over, hung over a bridge on interstate 80. moments after that the car burst into flames creating a backup. interstate 801 of the major east-west routes across the u.s.ment emergency officials say they are surprised no one lost their life. >>> there is a major cleanup effort going on in houston this morning. the coast guard says crews are working to clean up a 10,000-gallon oil spill that has closed traffic along 3 miles of a houston ship channel. last night the vessel was trying to make a turn when it hit a barge. no injuries were reported but the motor vessel ended up with a two by 4-foot gash in one of the fuel tanks. >>> his actions made people fearful to get out of their own cars. >> just ahead the woman who was married to the dc sniper and a memoir she is about to release about him. fresh express... <. you can tell whes ...and when it's not fresh express. at fresh express, we harvest everÑ

showers d thunderstorms in the rockies, with a chance of hail and gusty winds, from wyoming to arizona phoenix climbs to 100 today. sacramento, 86. it's 77 for seattle. 85 in boise. 79 in st. louis. and the 80s for chicago, detroit and minneapolis. a warm 76 in boston. 83 in new york. and 80 in atlanta. new orleans hits 87. and 82 degrees for dallas. >>> and coming up, the latest effort to root out al qaeda in the heart of new york city. >>> plus this -- >> don't tell me to be quiet. i don't -- >> another tennis tirade. the outburst at the u.s. open, involving the world's number one player. >>> it is a quiet morning for overseas markets, exactly one year after stocks went into a tail spin because of the credit crisis. tokyo's nikkei average climbed 0.1% today. hong kong's hang seng is lower. in london, the ftse opened slightly higher. wall street starts the day with the dow at 9626, after rising 21 points yesterday. the nasdaq added almost 11 points to close at 2091. >>> taxpayers could see a return on their investment in troubled banking giant citigroup. citi has held preliminary talk

>> wyoming. >> wyoming. where?here is this give me a big ir landmark. do you want to think about it. >> >> it's right up the idaho border. >> well, welcome, mice to see you. we have other long commuters here from the aloha state, that would i you. hawaii. >> we came over here just to be on "the early show." we're headed to africa. >> make sure your tank is full. items a long drive. let's go to the maps. beautiful weather in hawaii. what else is new. temperatures in the 80s across the hawaiian island rockies will see afternoon showers. as we head to the deep south and portions of the tennessee valley, it is going to be a soggy one. one to three inches, closer to the coastline, and one to two as you head inland. stretching all the way to the florida panhandle. the great lakes, the northeast look just beautiful. changes, though come as we led to the mid week where we'll begin to cool down in the northeast. >> good morning. temperatures right now are approaching 70 degrees. a beautiful day. going for a high of 85, sunn

but he says he struck out in west virginia and wyoming. >>> hundreds of people stood holding flags near the capitol tonight lighting up the national museum of the american indian. britney moorehouse tells us it is an adventure that had some people traveling six hours to participate. >> reporter: that's right, bruce. it may have looked strange to people passing by. spotlights all over the giant museum just like a disco ball but all of that nonsense led to this picture. >> that's the camera. you got to be back. >> reporter: barking orders. waving flashlights. and a whole lot of buzzing. >> i'm so curious. >> reporter: it is that curiosity that brings together several hundred volunteers, all of them toting. >> a flashlight. >> reporter: and when it is time they line up and light up this limestone museum. >> you guys are looking great. >> the point really is an educational adventure. we wanted to give our students the opportunity to use electronic flash creatively. >> reporter: it happens on a nearby scaffold where they take a time lapse shot of the building. they take shots all over the wo

what will i do if wyoming winds up without a provider? one of these solutions was thrown out there was having a program that would be done by the government that would be a backup in case there were not two companies that provided the insurance. we provided a lot of incentives for people to do it and i never had to worry about that because 49 companies wanted the business in wyoming. we went fromtwo to 49. it brought down the prices by 37% before it started. it has been below ever since it started. every time i went around the state and i did a bunch of town hall meetings to get people to sign up for this. if you don't sign up, then you start paying a penalty. i am pleased that my amin was one of the record states for a signing up, -- i am pleased that wyoming was one of the record states for signing up. their first question was how come i cannot get the drugs i want? how come i can i get the drugs my doctor is prescribing? the program had not started so i said i bet you are a veteran. they would say yes, how did you know? i said the vete

medical center in casper, wyoming. they told me that they are currently reimbursed at 37 cents on the dollar for their actual out-of-pocket costs of treating a medicare patient. mr. akin: that's an incredible number. in other words, we have a doctor like dr. gingrey, dr. fleming and they accept a patient on medicare, it costs them $1 to provide some type of medical care, they are getting reimbursed how much? $1.50? $1? how much? mrs. lummis: 37 cents. mr. akin: they are losing money on a medicare -- mrs. lummis: they are losing roughly 2/3 of every dollar that they spent spend -- mr. akin: so we are going to cut half -- $500 billion out of medicare and expect doctors to continue to do that? i don't understand how that's supposed to work. mrs. lummis: it is a stunning departure from rational thinking. mr. akin: i think that's a great phrase, a stunning departure from rational thinking. you're such a nice person. that's a nice way to say being stupid, isn't it? missouri, we are not very good at explaining things -- i wis

>> the junior senator from wyoming, and the senior senator from wyoming, a member of the now dissolved

you create an exchange in wyoming. what have you really changed? >> i would say you need another competitor in that exchange. that is what you're looking for. well, you do. and that is the goal of the public option. i am from a small state of south dakota, and it may be too small to create an exchange in a state with a few hundred thousand people, like wyoming or south dakota, so it may be that regional exchanges make more sense, so we increase the lagrange -- leveraged. we have an infrastructure shortage. we were trying to encourage greater utilization of providers and greater numbers of providers. we have a chronic nursing shortage, and we have got to address those shortages in rural areas in particular. i was hoping we could invigorate the national nursing corps. in many of those cases, people stay. these have to be addressed. >> we cannot again even with our morell initiatives focus on insurance reform. we have to be thinking about other reform -- with our rural initiatives. we cannot continue to send a veteran who is trying to go for a routine

tonight paul, i get a hit to the university of wyoming president tom buchanan for setting up two protesters been objecting to the naming of an international center for dick cheney on campus visit his support for the iraq war. and the president of the university reminded the protesters that real intellectual diversity includes and extends to people who you don't agree with.

with three republicans -- senator snowe from maine, senator grassley from iowa, senator ensly from wyoming. i think that senator snowe is very committed to trying to see health care reform enacted, and i hope that in the final analysis she will support the bill. i think senator grassley and senator endsly have stated more substantial objections to what has been proposed. i don't know where they'll finally come out. >> is it worth getting passed, to your mind, without bipartisan support? >> oh, i think that the reform proposals that we're talking about here are very important to try to get enacted. i would prefer to see it done on a bipartisan basis. if that's not possible, i think clearly we need to see if the votes are there on the democratic side to enact this legislation or some major part of it. >> that raises serious questions, given all that we've seen take place in these crazy town halls over the summer. the issues you raise now about getting democratic support, is that a foregone conclusion? >> no, i would say nothing is a foregone conclusion in this process. i do think that most d

>> the senator from wyoming is recognized. >> mr.esident, i appreciate having this opportunity to join in this celebration of the life of ted kennedy. his loss was deeply personal to all of us because he was strong and a vital presence not only senate, but in our day-to-day lives as well. he was interested and concerned not only about his colleagues, but about our staff and all those with whom he worked on a long list of issues that will continue to have an impact on our nation for many generations to come. that was the kind of individual ted was, active and completely involved in all things that had to do with the work of the senate. for my part, i lost a senate colleague who was willing to work with me, and with senators on both sides of the aisle. he was my committee chairman and my good friend. for those across the country who mourn this passing, they have lost a trusted and treasured voice in the senate, a champion who fought for them for almost 50 years. the political landscape of our country has now been permanently changed. i

we are there to look at rocks and looking at palm leafs in wyoming. so 5500 years ago this earth was very warm, and what is happening is natural and man-made influences. and our job is to provide solid information on this story. it's a complex story because carbon comes from a lot of places. >> how can you trace the time frame, if -- 55 million versus 555 million. >> well, you can date the profiles and measure the carbon isotopes in the layers, and see what kinds of carbon were there and where the sources came from. that was about the time that mammals were making a run after the dinosaurs were gone. they disappeared and mammals came in. they survived that period. they were tiny, horses the size of cats. so you can see a lot of interesting things going on in that period. host: you will be able to see news makers today and following this program, and our guest is wayne clough, the smithonian institution secretary. and now we have moshe schwartz the congressional policy analyst for civilian contractors. what is the current status of defense contractors

i just got back from wyoming, and doctors i talked to there are closing private practices, going into work for the va clinic. neil: really? the president says that they should look forward to more customers. >> they are overworked already. there are not enough providers, and that includes physicians, nurses, and nurse practitioners. they have not reduced costs at all, and they have had to take money from the schools, from fire, from public safety to pay for this. there are long waiting lines in massachusetts now to see doctors, and they have the most doctors per capita of any state in the country. doctors are already overworked and looking for ways to change their lives, and if this goes through, they will look for opportunity to do something else. neil: so you came to washington for more money. just kidding. calling a tax a tax and a clunker a clunker. neil: that was from capitol hill earlier today. the uninvited guests are spending like an orgy. this time, it is your money. after a $25 billion spending binge to me obama's, stimulus spending has crashed again -- after a spending bing

right now montana is 60% more unequal, 184 voters in montana equal representation of 100 voters in wyoming. connell: so, the math does not add up. what about people who say that if there were more members of congress, although they would do is spend more money. that has got to be the natural reaction. >> there are people not interested in having their careers, we are interested in people back home. connell: what with the real benefit be from doing this? what would change? >> here is what i think would change. look at the town hall meetings this year. people want to know that their representatives are speaking in representing them, not some this connected group. so, while there will be more people in the house, -- connell: what are you going to say, michael? >> there would be more a elected officials in the system, reading bills. we think of the congressmen should actually read them. connell: you of a constitutional lawyer, do you think that this could actually happen? >> this is a 100% certainty. maybe we will not, but we believe -- george washington spoke out on this issue. he believed th

what will i do if wyoming winds up without a provider? one of these solutions was thrown out there was having a program that would be done by the government that would be a backup in case there were not two companies that provided the insurance. we provided a lot of incentives for people to do it and i never had to worry about that because 49 companies wanted the business in wyoming. we went fromtwo to 49. it brought down the prices by 37% before it started. it has been below ever since it started. every time i went around the state and i did a bunch of town hall meetings to get people to sign up for this. if you don't sign up, then you start paying a penalty. i am pleased that my amin was one of the record states for a signing up, -- i am pleased that wyoming was one of the record states for signing up. their first question was how come i cannot get the drugs i want? how come i can i get the drugs my doctor is prescribing? the program had not started so i said i bet you are a veteran. they would say yes, how did you know? i said the vete

illegal immigrants, some working, some not, have completely different cost structures that a state like wyomingso a one size fits all national health-care plan is simply not going to work. finally, if you look at the number of doctors that are out there, neil, and you look at the number of additional people you are trying to cover, that is not going to work either. neil: you are say whatever inadequacies we have in our current system will be magnified under this one? >> it will, because what the public option would do, neil, is it would drive away competition. it would not help competition. the public option would be funded by taxpayer dollars, and they would have all of the taxpayer dollars to do what they want, and there would be political action committees involved and lobbyists involved, and we would see this balloon. neil: the congressman that was on before you said that in her own state of maine, there is very little competition to the private guys. there is essentially one big provider, so they welcome it. >> what they can do is have each and every state come up with their own health-car

northwest part of wyoming. beautiful picture. they are letting it burn out to hepburn out all the fuel it has there. not affecting anything which is grit news. >> that is good ne. some can be dangerous. devastating. this is so gorgeous sometimes. >> snow 'round sal lake city, we will talk abouout that in a- ho. >> you got it. thanks, bob. >>> movie actors, director, producers are all coming together to support roman polanski. even the french government is on his side. what's next for the man accused of raping a young teen? also, -- there this will be the first shot fired in the american revolution. >> a bank boosted that woman's interest rates she took her case to youtube and got quite t response. >>> director roman polanski is getting big name support and criticism as he sits in jail in switzerland. authorities there arrested him decades after he fled the u.s. before being sentenced for having sex with a 13-year-old girl. correspondent richard lui is following the controversy for us. what's the latest? >> good morning. some big

this all happened on friday afternoon on wyoming avenue in northwest. the owner got a call from the alarm company that somebody broke into his house. and he rushed home and ran into a back alley, and a delivery man pointed out the suspect. >> he was bleeding on his right hand, and i asked why his hand was bleeding and he started cursing me and started to walk briskly. i followed him. he started running and i ran two blocks while trying to dial 911 again. >> the homeowner says the police arrived 45 minutes after the alarm company called him. they went in the direction the suspect had ran but he was gone, along with the homeowner's laptop. >>> a prolife group gathered in the rain this morning for what they call a kill-the-bill rally. one donned a grim reaper costume. the debate shows no sign of losing steam. brooke hart has a look at tonight's speech. >> reporter: pressures on the president were loud and visible. liberals showed up outside the white house. some of those that worked on his campaign threatened to abandon him. >> i will not work for him agai

this all happened friday afternoon on wyoming avenue in northwest. the homeowner was at work a few blocks away. suddenly he got a call from his alarm company, someone had broken in. the homeowner says he rushed home and ran into a back alley. some delivery men pointed out the suspect. >> who was bleeding in his right hand. i said why is your hand bleeding. at which time he became a little belligerent and was cursing me and then started walking briskly. i followed him. then he started running. i ran for two blocks while trying to dial 911 again. >> the homeowner says police finally arrived 43 minutes after the alarm company first called him. he said they drove in the direction the suspect had run, but he was gone along with the homeowner's laptop. >> our time is 5:38. 67 degrees. why first lady michelle obama wants to shut down one busy district intersection once a week. >>> the deep cuts for the commonwealth affting higher education and putting hundreds of people out ofn >>> plus a jo n >>> plus a new version of the age old game mamakes s nyoyoureiei

and i think it worked, because china bought many things including the state of wyoming.eta: all right, well, leave it to conan o'brien to find some humor in this bad economy. that is your last call. the lights are blinking, and we are closing down shop. do not forget to go to gretawire.com and g

wyoming republican senator john barrasso is joining us. senator, great to see you. senator max baucus believes that there will be some republican support. is that possible? >> anything is possible, but i do not see it with this big bill. it is very expensive. it cuts $500 billion from our seniors for medicare. it forces what is considered the mother of all unfunded mandates on to the state treaty covers people by increasing the number of people on medicaid, which is partially paid for by washington, but partially paid for by the state's. republicans and democrats alike are very concerned about all the extra taxes they will have to raise at the state level. shepard: people on the left say the republicans are not going along with any sort of health care bill, so why don't they just go ahead and give us the public option? do you think that is a possibility? >> the democrats seem to be fighting amongst themselves. the republicans have a number of proposals out there. we want people to be able to buy insurance across state lines 3 want people to have the same tax relief

eight senator from wyoming is seen all members of congress should be forced to enroll in medicaid. some of the amendments are pointed political messages. >> give us an idea of the work ahead. >> they have to go through an lot of the amendments. some of those will be rendered moot by the german's changes. they will begin tomorrow with opening statements. a lot of political posturing at that point. they will walk to the revised chairman's proposal. there will be votes, and slowly but surely the full bill will take ship. >> david herszenhorn of "the new york times." >> up next, remarks from former supreme court justice david souter. after that, and look at how attorneys approach cases involving national security and classified information. we will hear from inspectors general from the cia. then the chairman of the sec, proposes new rules on web traffic for wireless carriers, the so-called net neutrality. >> tomorrow morning, the conversation on climate change which will be on the agenda at at this week's united nations meetings. the senate finance committee begins debating amendments

gregg: a big rig accident setting off a chain reaction in wyoming. the driver of a tractor-trailer going westbound on in a state 80, lost -- on interstate 80, lost control. several vehicle slammed into one another. fortunately, no serious injuries reported. interstate 80 shut down for most of the day. jane: brand new polls just out this morning shows a poll -- support for health-care support in this country -- support for health-care reform in this country at an all-time low. in the meantime, one of the biggest controversies in the debate over health-care reform surrounds the debate over a public auction. critics say it could lead to all kinds of long waits for people. in canada, some people actually spend money to travel to the united states to get treatment here instead. we have all heard some type of stories about this. are you finding that they are true? >> absolutely, and some of the stories are actually pretty shocking, especially one i heard last night from a man from toronto whose doctor suspected that he had a tumor in his brain. he was told

i just got back from wyoming and i was there yesterday talking to people in wyoming, and are asking what is in the bill and what will it cost, and that's why people want to read the bill before we vote on it. >> what would you be most aggressively pushing to update the system? in other words, when you look at the inefficiency, the holes in the bucket, lack of choice or competition or tort reform, and there is a lot of things that are training taxpayer money here, and where would you begin the update? >> as you know, not one single simple magic bullet that will solve the whole thing. we are talking about medicaid abuse, and waste and fraud. but i believe people ought to be able to buy insurance across state lines and get the same when individuals buy their insurance and they could get the same tax benefits as companies do. you have to have incentives for individuals to stay healthy, and not the community rating they are talking about, give them incentives to lose weight and get blood sugars under control, and deal with lawsuit abuse, which is awful, and we have to work with people that ge