now, and the merged bill, senator reid in my view has played an important foundation. and there are three fundamental principles in a senator reid's merged bill, and of course we are going to continue to work on this. in the managers package this bill gets out of the united states senate. we are going to be working on this for quite some time, mr. president. we are going to be working on this longer cable 24/7 td has worked on to other topics. but on the bill there are three important features of exchange. the first as it is going to be possible for consumers to make apples to apples comparisons of various health care plans. consumers will be able to see one plan will cost them $20 co-payments for a physician visit but perhaps another plan will cost them $30. it will be much like you can do a store, kosko, grocery store where consumers look at products on a shelf, look at a price, look at the various offerings and choose the best product for themselves. the second feature in the bill the democrats and republicans alike should appreciate is it will be possible to keep l

harry reid is watching the video. this new system is going to improve health care, expand choices, lower cost. it's going to do none of this. that is the snow job and then my personal favorite, a year without a. kathleen sibelius will be appearing in this christmas special as the house miser. but i am an optimist. i am a glass half-full person and i believe in the miracle on main street. [cheers and applause] because when we set our mind to something, we can do it. we can do anything and everything. we have been through much worse. after all, we survived jimmy carter. [cheers and applause] it doesn't matter how many slick press conference as the left has and their cronies in the democratic arty. it doesn't matter how much they vilify us. when it comes to standing up for our freedom and our basic rights, we will not be denied. we will not be silenced. [cheers and applause] and let me just tell you. i don't know about all of you over there but i think about christmas and hanukkah and i think of the season as the christm

the obama administration acceded to reid's demands. he's been placed in the general prison population, a less restrictive environment where he can speak with the media and where his mail will no longer be regularly monitored by the f.b.i. is this how we should treat people who attempt to blow up commercial airliners? we will no longer have the f.b.i. routinely monitor the mail? this is an outrage, an absolute outrage. unfortunately, it's not an isolated case. just a few years ago this same supermax allowed terrorist inmates to communicate with terrorist network abroad. at the time our democratic colleagues criticized these security lapses. the senior senator from new york said federal prisoner officials *fr officials were -- quote -- "incompetent when it comes to detecting possible terrorist activity in federal prisons." and he noted past evidence of terrorist communicating from live terror cells from inside prison walls. that's the senior senator from new york. our democratic colleagues now raise concerns about similar potential lapse

harry reid has led the fight. we have won it. . . what we are building here is not a mansion. it is a starter home. but it has a great foundation. coverage for 31 million americans. it has a great protective roof. and there is room for expansion in the future. but we might never get there if we do not start a starter home. so this is not the end of health care reform. it is the beginning. i'm going to join our leaders in making sure we can get done what we need to. >> i will take a few questions. yes. >> [inaudible] >> i worked with every democrating -- democratic senator for the merged bill, and now for the amendment. negotiations took place at this podiunm, sometimes individually, and ben nelson was like the rest of them. we worked for many, many weeks, as we did with other senators. so we have, as you look through the bill, you will see different interests in the merged manager's package. >> [inaudible] >>the doctor's fix was done because doctors felt that was the best way to move forward. we feel it should be

senate majority leader harry reid's bill grows just as fast as the house version. and yesterday -- the day before yesterday we got a new actuarial report that actually addressed the reid bill, as opposed to the house bill, and we talked about that fairly extensively. i haven't seen any articles about it yet. but just one summary comment on it is that, according to this actuary of c.m.s., a part of the administration, said that the cost of health care under the reid bill will increase by .7%. that doesn't sound like much. but it is .7% more -- move -- than if we did nothing. that's not bending the cost curve down. mr. holtzs-eakin says each bill sets up a new entitlement program that grows at 8% annually, as far as the eye can see, faster than the economy will grow, faster than tax revenues will grow, and just as fast as the already-broken medicare and medicaid programs. they also create a second, new entitlement program, a federally run long-term care insurance plan. the bills are fiscally dishonest using every budget gimmick in the book. leave out inconvenient spe

. >> have you been moved towards voting by anything the senator reid has proposed? >> as i said last night, we are having constructive discussions3 . it is not finished yet. we have learned in the last couple of weeks that we should all be looking at paper. this legislative process and we should look at specific legislative language before agreeing or not. if, as appears to be happening,

. >> thank you senator reid and dr. wilson. this is an historic moment not only because the legislation is about to be passed in the senate, but also because of the statement we just heard. there are many organizations who are endorsing this legislation because they know it's the right thing to do for america. hospitals know that, hospice, home health, pharmaceutical industry, they all know this is good for our country. but it's also historic because there is another endorsement, despite the american medical association. that's very important to me. the american medical association is not pose an legislation, but rather supports it. and they're supporting it in a way where once to keep working with the senate on issues that concern. he mentions the payment for

we heard from friends across the aisle about aarp's medicare cuts in the reid bill. if it sounds odd that a seniors' advocacy group would support taking nearly $500 billion from an already nearly bankrupt medicare program, it should. the fact of the matter is, as "the washington post" noted on october 27, the "post" says but not advertised in its lobbying campaign have been aarp's substantial earnings from insurance royalties and the potential benefits that could come its way from many of the reform proposals. democratic proposals to slash reimbursements for another program called medicare advantage are widely expected to drive up demand for private medigap coverage, like the ones offered by aarp, according to health care experts, legislative aides and documents." so aarp, the so-called seniors' advocacy group that's advocated for cut in the benefits to 11 is million beneficiaries of medicare advantage, a suggestion is one reason they will do so is because they will profit from this bill because these seniors will, if they can afford it, have to go out and buy mediga

reid: i think we would come in somewhere around noon on sunday. i indicate to my friend that it appears that we have the -- the next opportunity for amendment will be when we complete this. it's my understanding that senator ben nelson is ready, has an amendment. i think we've given it to your staff. this may be one where it's

reid: mr. president, senators should expect a series of roll call votes, maybe as many as five, to begin at approximately 2:13 tomorrow afternoon. and if there's no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it adjourn under the previous order following the remarks of senator dodd of connecticut. the presiding officer: without objection. a senator: i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut. mr. dodd: madam president, i'd ask consent that the call of the quorum be rescinded. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. dodd: madam president, i'm going to take a few minutes here if i may this evening to speak about what this health care bill means to my constituents in connecticut, the benefits to our states are very similar in many, many ways but object dwrusly we like to point -- obviously we like to point out what this means in our own respective jurisdictions, what this means. but be

due to what is in the reid bill, as it will collapse my practice." now, mr. president, this is incredibly important to us, not only in a state like alaska where -- where we're in a crisis situation when it comes to providers who are willing to take new medicare individuals. right now in our -- in our state's largest city, we have 13 providers who will take new medicare individuals. 13. well, now if this individual who we have communicated with just a week ago is making the decision to opt out of medicare because of the low reimbursement rates, because of what is seen developing here on the floor of this senate and the impact that that will have on that family care practice, we -- talk about not being able to sustain things. it is not acceptable, and so when i read the language in the actuary report that says that providers might tend to accept more patients or might find it more difficult to remain profitable and might end their participation in the medicare program, to me i'm looking at it , i'm seeing it is not might. it is happening, it is now, and it is i

senator reid, our leader. the amount of hours that he has spent and the days he has spent here without his family, without going home, being here all the time working. our assistant leader, senator durbin. so many people have worked so hard on this bill. we've had so much input on this. everyone has had input on this bill. our republican friends have had input on this bill. they had it in our committees. i said we accepted 161 amendments. so i guess you can say this bill has a lot of authors. but there's really only one author of this bill: senator ted kennedy. senator ted kennedy. it's his bill because it does get us the start -- the start. to my friends, i say this is not the end of health care reform. it's the beginning. but we must make this beginning in order to fulfill that dream and really make health care a right, not a privilege. so in a half an hour, let's make history. the other side says fear. we say hope. the other side says no. we say yes. we say yes to progress, yes to people, yes to health care

senator reid improved on it with his merge bill. we will see what cbo scores so we don't see the changes that are suggested. my hope and belief is it will improve more. >> let me just add the first part of your question. your premise of your question which was the biggest challenge -- not sure how you can find it. struggles are in our caucus. first of all, the republicans have chosen to be off the plane. they could have been on the playing field but chose not to be. when they walk away after months of max baucus meeting with several of their members and the leadership came down very hard on several of them and said we don't want a bill. bottom-line is of course when you are left to do all of the 60 votes, when you have a filibuster process which they have led which requires 60 votes and all 60 votes are likely to come from democrats, of course the debate is going to be how do you make the best bill within a certain universe. they have taken themselves out of it. that is a point that is important to make. the second part is in the me

senator reid did an amazing job. i am rocked with ofawe. max baucus who persisted and persisted, no matter what was thrown in the way, and chris dodd, who kept the spirit of kennedy in reaching for the highest values. this is a happy day. mitch mcconnell said on the floor that we are going to go home and hear our constituents complain about this bill. i do not believe that. i believe the negativity that leader mcconnell and others have continually displayed on the bill months -- on the floor as pete. as people would give the bill, it will become more popular because it is good for america, good for the american people, and the true symbol of what we can do if we all pull together. >> [inaudible] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2009] >> good morning, everybody. in a historic moment that took place this morning, members of the senate to join their colleagues in the house to pass the landmark health insurance reform. legislation brings us to the end of the nearly centur

and let's see harry reid's home state of nevada, make this an unconsciousable bill. and i predict that any democrat who votes for this bill, whether they are in the house or senate, they will be taught a lesson at the next election. i guarantee they will not be reelected for their current positions. and i suggest also that it's unamerican for the democrats to pull ranks w3on this particular bill and not inform the ç american public of what is in it. woe unto any democrat who supports this bill because you are be termed out of office. and i think this is a turning point çin the american democra. we are nótda democracy, we are a republic democracy. i believe that every single democrat who votes for this will no longer be in their position come the next election. host: ok, let's go to vivian from pennsylvania. caller: no, it's virginia, good morning. and good morning to c-span. i can't understand what is wrong with america, they don't want health care for the people. i don't believe in abortion, they don't want abortion but they don't want to take care of a child

akers, signed by andy reid in 1999. reid's first year. after akers had been cut by the washington redskins. spent a year in nfl europe. phil: the clocks are identical in the stadium. jim: there you go, seven seconds. so you can't declare it if it goes through the uprights for victory because you still have the kickoff to go. time-out, philadelphia. seven second, and akers, pretty cool guy, too in these kinds of situations. philadelphia again already in the postseason. has a chance at the number two seed if things break right. still haven't locked up the division. they could win the division if dallas loses tonight or if they win at dallas next week. and denver trying to fight for its playoff life. will not be eliminated with a loss but would need help next week. so near 28 yards. is that the lucky number for the eagles? akers drives it through and philadelphia takes the lead. like you said, phil, he doesn't just chip it. he kills it. phil: well, for all the scrug -- struggles this eagles team had the second half, really on both sides of t

the reid proposal. so you have got ten million people, according to the c.b.o., who are going to lose their employer-based coverage, and you also have the 11 million people who get medicare advantage which is being cut. they aren't going to be able to keep what they have. can you argue maybe their benefits are too rich today. that's been the argument that has been made by the other side, but you can't say they will be able to keep what they have. if you're going to cut cut $118 billion out of medicare advantage, the 11 million people in this country who get medicare advantage are going to see their benefits cut. they are not going to be able to keep what they have. in fact, the senator from pennsylvania, senator casey said recently on these medicare advantage cuts, and i quote -- "we're not going to be able to say if you like what you have you can keep it, and that basic commitment that a lot of us around here have made will be called into question." 11 million people who get medicare advantage aren't g

senator reid has kept the fire wall in place in the underlying bill. he keeps the status quo of the hyde amendment. the group here coming on the floor most liebman so far there may be some women on their behalf but i haven't heard it are basically saying forget the firewall. forget it. women, and you can't use your private funds and the government will tell you what you can or can't do. i tell you something, that isn't what uncle sam should do. on goals and should respect women, man, and i hope we defeat this amendment and i yield the floor. >>> the senate voted to table or set aside the nelson amendment that would have put tighter restrictions on abortion and health care bill. a short time ago senate majority leader harry reid announced agreement reached by democrats meeting about the legislation. this is about five minutes. >> kind of a long journey. we've confronted many hurdles and had to take big steps and a lot of little steps. but tonight we have overcome a problem that we had. i think it's fair to say the debate at this stage has been portrayed

reid: i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: mr. kaufman: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from delaware. mr. kaufman: madam president, i ask unanimous consent the senate now stand in -- i ask we rescind the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. kaufman: thank you. i ask the unanimous consent the senate stand in recess until 12:00 noon. that upon convening at noon and any leader time the senate resume consideration of h.r. 3590, with the time until 12:30 p.m. equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees. that from 12:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. there will be one hour alternating blocks of time with the majority controlling the first block and all post cloture time continue to run during any recess, adjournment or period of morning business until 6:30 monday. the presiding officer: before the chair announces the unanimous consent agreement, the chair announces that because cloture has been invoked, the motion to refer falls. without objection, the request

we are blessed to have harry reid with us. this is the most difficult task. -- a most difficult task. this product will move from the senate and to the conference with the house of representatives. today, we stand ready to pass a bill into law but finally makes access to quality health care a right for every american, not a privilege for a fortunate few in our country. this year, many years ago, franklin delano roosevelt spoke of four religions -- for freedoms. one of the great fears that americans live with is that they would be hit with an illness for which they would not receive treatment because they could not afford it. this bill does not guarantee that you'll never get sick. it does not guarantee that you will not die. all the guarantees is that you are a citizen and you are struck with illness, you will never have that fear that you'll end up losing your home, your job, your retirement, your life savings, because you have been afflicted by an illness. we are dealing with a freedom that all americans have, that one day t

reid reid: i ask unanimous consent the time until 1:00 a.m. equally divided and controlled between the leaders or their designees, that senators be permitted to speak for up to ten minutes each, that the mandatory quorum be waived and the majority leader be recognized for the last ten minutes and the ten minutes prior to that, the republican leader be recognized if he chooses to speak. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: mr. president, those who are following the business of the senate may be surprised to find us a little after midnight in session. this is a decision made by the senate just a few hours ago to postpone the continuation of our session into a new legislative day. the purpose is parliamentary so that a motion which we have filed can be voted on. it's an important motion. it's a cloture motion. we often have them. it's a motion that closes debate on the floor and moves us forward to the consideration of the measure, and they are very few

senator reid has keep that in place in the underlying bill. he keeps the status quo of the hyde amendment. the group here who are coming on the floor continually -- mostly men; i think so far all men, there may be some women that speak in their behalf but i haven't heard it -- are basically saying forget the firewall, forget it. women, you can't use your private funds and government will tell you what you can or can't do. you know, i'll tell you something, that's not what uncle sam should do. uncle sam should respect women, we should respe >> i apologize for the delay but with this committee coming up we are a little busy. we will convene this hearing today. we have had a series of conversations obviously on an ongoing basis with a variety of people. we have a great frustration at the failure of the combined efforts of the federal government to make a substantial impact on the foreclosure issue. programs have been put forward but no one can think we have done a satisfactory job. part of it this mistakes of the past and one of the things we're

what is senator reid going to have to do to get the bill finish by christmas? >> the days are taking away. the time to do this is dwindling. one of the spokesman this morning said that potentially sometime this week, before the end of the week, senator riegle begin filing cloture on various aspects of the bill. -- senator reid will begin filing cloture on various aspects of the bill. if the republicans -- without republican cooperation it could take even longer. it seems like it is quite the task to try to get something passed out of the senate by christmas, but the majority leader is getting to the point where he might start wielding the procedural hammer a little more. >> you can read some of cake hunters articles at c-span.org. >> speaking with mitch mcconnell and his colleague john mccain, this is about 10 minutes. >> good afternoon, everyone. the fact that the president of the united states is over meeting with democrats only tells you where this debate has gone. earlier in the year, there was talk about producing a bill that 80 of 100 senators could suppo

reid: mr. president, following leader remarks -- the presiding officer: the majority leader is recognized. mr. reid: i'm so sorry. sorry about that, mr. president. i just got a little ahead of myself, which is easy to do sometimes. following leader remarks the senate will resume consideration of the health reform ltion. the time until 10:00 is divided between the two leaders or designees. at 9:00 until 2:00 p.m. there will be an hour of alternating blocks of time with the majority controlling the first hour. the time between 2:00 and 2:15 will be equally divided between the two leaders with the majority leader controlling the final half, there will then be five or six roll call votes in relation to the hc bill. -- in relation to the health care bill. note the absence of a quorum, mr. president. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. [no audio] the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. mr. sessions: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from alabama is recog

i was watching harry reid on tv and there was this look on his face. there is this look of desperation. the last election, the two democratic governors are voted out. americans are catching on. they are fed up. obama, who i happen to like, and wanted bush and cheney out, he has not created the 3 million jobs that he ran on, he has not brought our troops home from the middle east, that he ran on. matter of fact, he sent more troops. now he's got to come up with something because the elections are one year from now and have to say they gave us something even if it is two three aspirants for every american couple. there are going to pass this regardless of what it says because they have to have something on the resume to say look how good we are at governing. wheat pass this bill. -- we pass this bill. host: china's government censors take in fresh aim of the internet, rolling new measures that limit the citizen's ability to set up a personal website and view hugs -- hundreds of website offering films, video games, and other forms of entertainment. the au

this is another major problem in the reid bill. of the many taxes in this bill, i'm especially worried about the excise tax on medical devices. medical device technology is responsible for saving many lives and extending the overall life expectancy of people in the united states. in the united states over 6,000 companies are in business of developing lifesaving medical products. the majority of these companies are very small business and small business we tend to measure around here with less than 500 employees. so what will happen when the reid amendment imposes a tax hike of $20 billion on these innovative medical devices? i think that's something we ought to consider if we're considering about quality of life in america and quality health care to preserve that life and extend life expectancy. during the markup of the finance committee bill, i asked the question to the nonpartisan congressional budget office and the nonpartisan committee on taxation. let me emphasize nonpartisan. these folks are professionals. they don't care abo

senator reid is very clear. he puts into place, as i said, a firewall between the federal funds and the private funds. so roe v. wade is still the law of the land. i know a lot of my colleagues don't support it, they'd like to see it overturned, they'd like to make abortion illegal at the earliest stages, they'd like to criminalize it, they'd like to put doctors in jail, they'd like to put women in jail. the fact is roe v. wade is the law of the land, and at the early stages of a pregnancy, a woman has a right to choose. that's the law. later on she can't do it. there are restrictions for her. hurdles for her. that's what roe does. so there are many people, particularly on the other side of the aisle -- more than on our side, for sure -- who want to make roe, they want p to overturn roe. well, they know they can't do it because the vast majority of the people in this country support a woman's right to choose at the early stages of a pregnancy. so what can they do? they can make it impossible for her to access, a

well, the fact is this reid health care bill makes this much, much worse. my colleagues say that the c.b.o., the congressional budget office, has scored the bill as deficit neutral. well, any bill can be called deficit neutral if you're willing to raise taxes enough and cut programs like medicare, which this bill does, both of which they do. the congressional budget office said in their score of the reid bill -- "the long-term budgetary impact could be quite different if key provisions of the bill were ultimately changed or not fully implemented." well, what could they mean by that? what they mean is some of the assumptions about the cuts and other things that range over a ten-year budget window, if they don't come true, then all bets are off. we know the reid bill relies on budget gimmicks to hide the true costs of this washington takeover. one gimmick is, for example, not including the medicare provider fix, the so-called doc fix which costs $210 billion over ten years. in other words, this bill leaves that out entirely, and i know -- i'm confident becaus

once against, harry reid is demonstrating why harry reid is sowing so well. >> that is from the las vegas sun. this is from the reno scammer newspaper. -- arena scam inner -- examiner >> only a third of nevada's votersq-l well-known for callin president obama a loser and liar while giving a speech to school children. telling the review journal director he hopes they go out of business. a means to help pass obama care and the slave master references. these come as no surprise. we are sure to see many more twone now and the 2010 elections. the question is now how deep they will sink. why do you continue to tout the healthcare bill. are you a representative of nevada's people? those are two different opinions on senator reed. fur from nevada, we especially want to hear from you. mark in little river, south carolina on the republican line. go ahead with what you think. caller: he has the best congress money can buy. mary lander got her $3 million for holding out. senator ben nelson is holding out. all you have to do is hold out and be a democrat and you can get what you want from harry reid.

thank you. >> thanlet me also thank senator reid. on this christmas eve, i cannot think of a better gift that the united states can give our float -- fellow citizens then lived in the fear of of their shoulders that they would not be able to provide for their families in a time of need. this was an enormous victory for the american public and i am proud of the vote cast in favor of this effort. last year proved that progress is not easy, but today, we are able to prove that it is not impossible. and because of the leadership of harry reid, max baucus, tom of finance and some others, we're not on the cusp of providing all americans with the security of having decent health care. there's never been a vote cast that has done as much to relieve the burdens or read more security for working class families in america than this one. this is probably the most important vote that every member of this senate will cast in their tenure here. i am proud to be a part of it and i thank my colleagues for staying with us. and i was ted kennedy were h

>> well, thank you, senator reid, and thank you all for joining today. i'm cecil willson as you heard the president-elect of the american medical association, and internist in florida. i flew into washington snowstorm some have said of the century because the message i have to communicate with you today is of critical importance to the nation's physicians and to the patients we dedicate our lives to caring for. after a close and careful review, the ama is pleased to announce its support for passage of the amended health system reform bill. the senate bill includes a number of key benefits for meaningful reform. it will include improvements and choice and access to affordable health insurance coverage and eliminate the denial based on pre-existing conditions. it will improve -- it will get rid of a lifetime limits on health care coverage as well as higher premiums based on medical conditions agenda. these are important benefits for those who have insurance now and for those who want it but have been on able to get it. america has the best health care in t

reid to wake up to that effect. i'm calling senators today to say if they vote for this bill i'm not voting for them again. host: i apologize you're out of time and we have to get a response from the senator. guesá: let me say circumstances when,l b. j. was the majority leaders our circumstance where is different than they are today with senator reid. he needs 60 vets to move this legislation forward and he's doing, in my view, a good job in trying pull us together to get those 60 votes and,l b. j. had more democrats when medicare and - was being considered in the senate of course he was president by then but even when he was majority leader, he had some ceramics t damages senate not have today. i think he's doing a good job trying bring us together. . earlier at a briefing said the signing of a new u.s. reduction treaty is unlikely before the year's end. he says the u.s. delegation is slowing down efforts to reach a deal and urged the u.s. to agree to deeper cuts on nuclear arsenals and less intrusive verification

the concern is ed reid. reid is listed doubtful with injuries to foot and groin. because the lions have calvin johnson, who is a match up nightmare for opposing defensive back. this week former justin harper has been playing the role of johnson in practice. he even wore johnson's 85 but harper can only do so much. johnson is 6'5" and his skill level is off the charts. >> calvin johnson is a match up nightmare. you know, he's as good as anybody in the league. we played him two years ago in philadelphia. he's tall, he's fast and got great hands and catches passes. he's a tremendous player. >> he's a great, great receiver, you know. he's got size. he's got speed. everything that really impresses me probably the most about hill is he goes after every ball as if it's the last one. you know, you see some skilled receivers that will make catches and the next one they will drop. this guy is fighting for every one like it's the last rebound. >> there is some key players on the injury list. offensive weapons mark clayton and lj smith join reid as doubtful and johnson and te

reid: i would also say, mr. president, through you to my friend, we democrats are going to have a caucus -- we're ttentively going to have one sunday afternoon. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection, so ordered. mr. thune: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from south dakota. mr. thune: mr. president, i'd like to call up amendment 2901 and ask for its immediate consideration. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from south dakota, mr. thune, proposes an amendment numbered 2901 to amendment numbered 2786. beginning on page 1925, strike line 15 and all that follows through line 15 on page 1979. mr. thune: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from south dakota. mr. thune: mr. president, i would like to speak to the amendment that we just filed at the desk. and what this amendment would do -- it's very straightforward and very simple. it does what a number of my colleagues on the other side have asked to do, and that is to strike the

and of course, as senator dodd said, our leader, harry reid. to put it in biblical terms, harry reid has the patience of jobe -- job, the wisdom of solomon, and the endurance of sampson. -- samson. he has hung in there day after day. has put this together. and he is about to achieve what hasç alluded so many majority leaders going back over half a century. truly with the passage of this bill harry reid will have earned his place in theç senate's history.çqu! i thank all the groups for all their support behind us here who have gotten us to this point and without further ado, the person who has led us to this point of victory for the american people, our great leader, harry reid. >> we have a lineup here today that is the lineup that is the reason we were able to complete this legislation. i play baseball. i love baseball. i love baseball season. i can come home even if it's for a shortç time, turn on the tv, and watch an inning or two, it's extremely relaxing. i enjoy it very much. i know a lot about baseball.ççó ii] know a lot about

harry reid. [applause] >> i mentioned earlier that senator brooke's first electoral win as massachusetts attorney general. we back in 1962. the road to that office is as rocky as the state's northern coast. when he announced he would seek that job, state party officials did everything they could to dissuade him. they offered him a judgeship and he said no. they offered him the lieutenant governorship and he said no. they told him he could not win. he said no, i can win. there was no dissuading at or broke. he had good reasons -- good reason not to take no for an answer. four years later and six years after that, the people of massachusetts sent him to represent them in washington. the soldier who fought fascism, a lawyer who fought corruption, the attorney general who fought violence, the candidate who fought his daughters became a remarkably successful united states senator who fought for equality, transparency, and for peace. we are all proud of the -- of what the grand sum of a slave of bought

reid: mr. president? promise the majority leader is recognized. mr. reid: following leader remarks the senate bill resume consideration of the h.r. 35990. there will be time for debate. we can never determine for sure, mr. president, but it appears votes should start between 5:00 and 6:00. the senate will be in recess from 12:45 until 3:15 today for the the weekly caucus luncheons. mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican leader is recognized. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, with americans now really focusing in on the health care debate, it's important to take a step back and recall where we started, because somewhere -l along the way democratic leaders took their eyes off the ball. it's a good time to remember what this reform debate was all about. the goal of this legislation, by all accounts, everyone agreed the goal was to lower the cost of health care. this is what the president has to say. it's a direct quote. "the bill i sign," according to the president, "must slow the growth of health care costs in the long run." tha

reid: i think we would come in somewhere around noon on sunday. i indicate to my friend that it appears that we have the -- the next opportunity for amendment will be when we complete this. it's my understanding that senator ben nelson is ready, has an amendment. i think we've given it to your staff. this may be one where it's sponsored by people on your side also. and we'll be waiting to see what your next amendment will be. mr. mcconnell: i would say to my friend, i assume we're going to continue with the procedure that your side offers one, our side offers one? mr. reid: and we will show those to each other before that happens. mr. mcconnell: all right. mr. reid: madam president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: we're in this chamber, and a lot of times we talk it's as if no one's listening to what we're saying, but that's not true. the american people are listening and they're watching. that's good. but this morning, madam president, i have good news and i have some bad news. the good news is senate republicans finally --

reid of nevada. >> no. ( laughter ) ( applause ) >> mr. reid of nevada. aye. >> the yays are 60, the nays are 39. h.r. 3590 as amended-- the patient protection and affordable care act-- is passed. ( applause ) >> through 24 days of grueling debate, republicans had done everything they could to stop the bill, and they warned it's not over. minority leader mitch mcconnell: >> i guarantee you that people who voted for this bill are going to get an earful when they finally get home for the first time since thanksgiving. >> reporter: but democratic leaders were triumphant as they spoke to reporters afterward. >> this is a victory because we've affirmed that the ability to live a healthy life in our great country is a right and not merely a privilege for the select few. i look forward to working with my friends in the house so we can send a bill to the president as soon as possible. >> this is probably the most important vote that every sitting member of the senate will cast in their tenure here. and i'm just proud to have been a part of it, and i thank my coll

in response, senator reid called that bill an immoral document. the junior senator from california said she strongly opposed the cuts in the bill because they would -- quote -- "cut medicare and medicaid by $27 billion." end quote. there are thousands of media quotes on that. the media quotes the majority more often, and here in d.c. the volume of quotes is equated with being right. well, that doesn't actually work that way. yet today, these same members and the rest of my democratic colleagues want to create a new entitlement program -- make that programs -- that will spend hundreds of billions of dollars, and they would pay for it by cutting $464 billion from the medicare program. that's enough money to run the state of wyoming for 320 years. we don't understand how much money we're talking about here. you can't take that kind of money from a program, give it to other programs and expect the program -- and we recognize that. that's why we put this medicare commission in there that annually is supposed to suggest extra cuts. well, let's see, we m

however, the reid bill establishes a new c.m.s. innovation center which will be for the first time granting c.m.s. broad authority to decide which treatments to ration. last one -- last rationer, it's like the four horsemen. the u.s. preventive services task force -- right here, the u.s. preventive services task force. they got a lot of headlines here recently and i'll go into that here in just a moment. it's yet another panel of appointed experts. we've got four panels here, none of them elected, so-called experts. this will make -- this particular task force will make recommendations on what preventive services patients should receive. currently the task force recommendations are optional but the reid bill bestows this unelected, unaccountable body with substantial new powers to determine insurance benefit requirements in medicare, medicaid and even the private market. and the task force has already revealed the types of recommendations that it will be making. just recently, it decided to reverse its long-standing recommendation

senator reid, our leader. the amount of hours that he has spent and the days he has spent here without his family, without going home, being here all the time working. our assistant leader, senator durbin. so many people have worked so hard on this bill. we've had so much input on this. everyone has had input on this bill. our republican friends have had input on this bill. they had it in our committees. i said we accepted 161 amendments. so i guess you can say this bill has a lot of authors. but there's really only one author of this bill: senator ted kennedy. senator ted kennedy. it's his bill because it does get us the start -- the start. to my friends, i say this is not the end of health care reform. it's the beginning. but we must make this beginning in order to fulfill that dream and really make health care a right, not a privilege. so in a half an hour, let's make history. the other side says fear. we say hope. the other side says no. we say yes. we say yes to progress, yes to people, yes to health care

and it's to the honorable harry reid, the majority leader. and i would refer the senator to page 10 of that letter in which the director of the congressional budget office says this in reference to provisions affecting medicare, medicaid and other programs, and i quote -- "other components of the legislation would alter spending under medicare, medicaid and other federal programs in total. c.b.o. estimates that enacting these provisions would reduce direct spending by $491 billion over the 2010-2019 period." then the letter goes on on this page alone to delineate three areas where medicare payments, medicare provisions are going to be reduced or cut. and i would specifically refer to them. the first is a fee-for-service sector. this is other than physician services. it's going to be reduced b by $192 billion over 10 years. in the medicare advantage program, a program that literally thousands and thousands of georgiaians take -- georgians take advantage of and millions of americans take advantage of, is going to be reduced by $118 billion over

harry reid says the same. this is opening the democratic party to inevitable tax. we're not even getting the new deal kind of program we need. such as guaranteed. health care for guaranteed this is a travesty. we're giving the insurance industry huge subsidies. the medicare proposal floated in the senate -- now we find out the premiums for just one individual between 55-64 each person could be paying $7,600. this is not a social compact that guarantees health care. it perpetuates the idea or reality of healthcare apartheid. host: good afternoon to our viewers are watching us on the bbc parliament channel. we also welcome your calls. you can also send us a comment by twitter or by our e-mail address. let me share with you what mitch mcconnell said yesterday off the senate floor and where the healthcare debate is and is going. >> we saw two weeks ago in a gallup poll that there was a 9% more americans opposed then supporting. we saw a 40% more opposing in another poll. now in the cnn will we see 61% opposed. the argument i your friends on the other side making, they

>> well, thank you, senator reid and bank you all for joining us today. i am cecil wilson, the president-elect of the american medical association and an internist in florida. i flew into the washington snowstorm because the message i have to communicate with you today is of critical importance to the nation's physicians and to the patients we dedicate our life to caring for. after a close and careful review, the ama is pleased to announce his support for passage of the amended health care reform bill. the senate bill includes a number of key benefits for meaningful reform. it will include improvements in choice and access and affordable health care insurance. eliminates the denials based on pre-existing disease conditions. it will get rid of lifetime limits on health care coverage as well as higher premiums based on medical conditions or gender.3 these are important benefits for those who have insurance now and for those who want but have been unable to get it. america has the best -- best health-care system in the world if you can get it. but for far to

and at aime when harry reid is trying to muster 6votes to pass the bill,hose numbers are not lpful. >> its a fact that t issue of abortion sti very strong emotion. >> reporter: nebraska decrat ben neon-- one of the last holdouts-- is ill insisting on tighter restrictio on abortion coverage, he told a radio interviewer day. >> as it is right now, witho furtr modifications, it isn't sufficient. there is a lotmprovement on the legislation t the basic estion about funding of abortion has not been full answed yet. >> reporter: and replicans have stepped up thr efforts to block the bill, usinevery procedural toothey can. >> i'd offer unamous consent... >> rorter: the debate came to a standsll for a time yesterday, when oklama republican tom coburn foed senate clerks to srt reading 767-page democratic amendmen >> section 2006. >> reporter: the proposal wa eventually pulled. but coburn has threatened e same tacc when the final veion of the bill-- roughly 000 pages-- comes to the floor. the republican goal:o make mocrats give up and start over. >> there's a chae, there's a chance thawe could s

yet, that's exactly what the reid bill would do. the reid bill would require states to expand medicaid he will -- eligibility to all up to 133% of federal poverty begins january 1. there is even talk of raise that go to 150%. the federal government would foot the bill for two years. in 2017 the states would have to help finance this expansion. the congressional budget office estimates that $25 billion in new state spending would result under the reid bill. and the arizona governor's office estimates this bill would require the state of arizona to increase its cost by almost $4 billion between now and 2020. the state of arizona doesn't have that kind of money. just the so-called wood work effect alone, meaning the number of currently eligible individuals that might enroll, would itself entail significant costs. there are about 200,000 arizonans currently eligible but not all are enrolled in medicaid. if only half of those individuals would enroll, it would cost the state $2 billion from 2014 to 2019. as i said, our state simply doesn

it's why the small business majority says the manager's amendments, senator reid's manager's amendment includes new provisions essential for small business protection and survival. that's the voice of business. not one vote for a bill that promotes competition among insurers and choice for workers or to test alternatives to civil tort that emif a sao*eus size resolution -- emphasize resolution of disputes. not one vote. not one vote. or for people in my home state of new jersey and every state who will see direct and immediate benefits from this legislation. not a vote for every uninsured new jerseyan who has a praoebg condition and has been unable to find affordable health insurance on the marketplace. the health of our families is not a commodity. it is not a privilege for the wealthy. it is something everyone should be able to be protected from without going broke. under this legislation, 1.3 million seniors in my home state will be eligible for free preventive care for recommended services. seniors will also be eligible for free annual wellness visits to their doctors and will be p

harry reid says the same. this is opening the democratic party to inevitable tax. we're not even getting the new deal kind of program we need. such as guaranteed. health care for guaranteed this is a travesty. we're giving the insurance industry huge subsidies. the medicare proposal floated in the senate -- now we find out the premiums for just one individual between 55-64 each person could be paying $7,600. this is not a social compact that guarantees health care. it perpetuates the idea or reality of healthcare apartheid. host: good afternoon to our host: good afternoon to our viewers are watching us you can also send this a twitter comment or e-mail us. before i get you to respond, this was set off the senate floor. >> we saw in the gallup poll that there was a 9% more americans to oppose the bill that supported it. in another poll, 14% more americans oppose the bill been supported it. and now we see in the cnn poll, 61% opposed and only 36% in favor. the argument i hear our friends on the other side making is that they are sorting their members to make history.