[applause] >> thanks senator baucus. now it's a real honor for me to introduces my cochair for this event, robert rubin. bob joined the clinton administration in 1993 serving as assistant to the president for economic policy and the first director of the national economic council. he also served as our nation's 70th from 1995 and 1999 where he played a leading role in the nation's most important policy debates and also was my boss back then. general from 1999 to 2005 he served in a number of roles including co-chairman of foreign relations and serving on mt. sinai, harvard and other medical groups as well. he's one of the founders of the hamilton project, the economic policy project that's housed here in brookings and he continues to offer innovative policy proposals in how to benefit a growing economy. bob? [applause] >> thank you, mark. as mark said i'm bob rubin. i'm here on behalf of the hamilton project and i join with mark in welcoming all of you with what i agree with max baucus' comment that this is a very import

>> guest: it bothers me, it is not just senator baucus it is virtually every republican. i am an independent. and am i going to sit here and tell you that democrats are immune from any pressure? of course, they are not. we have some wonderful democrats or writing to do the right thing but you have some conservative democrats will work with the republicans but from a political point let me say this. there are some people who say we've got to move toward in a bipartisan approach which means we have to have a cloture on a filibuster which means you need 60 votes which mean you have to make major compromises. my guess is and maybe wrong in this but my strong feeling is if we end up with a bill that has sisera 70 votes it will be such a weak bill that will not accomplish with the american people want out rather pass a strong bill with 51 those than a week bill with 65 percent of votes. a bottom line is the current system is dysfunctional and we're wasting 300 and $400 billion and need to move toward a cost of active universal program, we have to move in that direction. this is

more from senator baucus. baucus aides warn k street. called a last minute preemptive strike wednesday with a group of prominent democratic lobbyists warning them to advise their clients not to attend a meeting with senate republicans set for today. russell sullivan, the top staffer on finance, and baucus chief of staff met with a block of more than 20 contract lobbyists, including several former baucus aides. "they said republicans are having this meeting and you need to let your clients know if they'll have someone there that will be viewed of a hostile act," said a democratic lobbyists who will be attending the meeting. republican leaders have been meeting with health care stakeholders for months with those sessions occurring more frequently than once a month, according to a senior senate g.o.p. aide. margarita, democrat, alexandria, virginia, you're on. how do you pay for health care? caller: through our own taxes. right now we pay taxes through the nose and we don't see any personal benefit. >> and we're leaving this and taking you

senator baucus, we're pleased to have you back at brookings institute for this opening keynote. [applause] >> thank you, mark, very much and thank you very much for inviting me to your session today to talk about an issue i think a great chance a primitive and that is compared -- that is comparative effectiveness research. santi in dallas $0.1, and men alike shopping they would call it research. [laughter] think about it. from cars to television when americans go shopping there rarely able to evaluate information about the quality and effectiveness of anything but also for health care. and why should americans have information on what works and what doesn't? when it comes to their health that question is especially important when one considers that health care is where americans spend one in every $6 that we spend in the year. since the finance committee began preparing for a comprehensive health reform last year comparative effectiveness research has been mentioned in the very often. it is almost constantly mentioned and it has raised almost as much controversy. it is a hot top

i want to applaud chairman max baucus, senator dodd, who have been champions in this issue. we are honored to stand with both of you. senator max baucus, with your strong leadership on the senate finance committee, with the creativity that led to the development of this very unique solution. we will also support the process and look forward to -- with optimism to the next up. the bottom line, without you chairman, we would not be here today. we offer you all of our thanks. when the president issued his call for all parties to come together to address the issues of health reform, a our peak, representing over 40 million members was proud to be one of the members to offer support. struggling americans who have looked for help in their pocketbooks just to stay healthy, to say that one of their single, largest, drivers of their health-care costs is prescription drugs. today, americans do not whole, the gap in coverage, will have their brand name drugs costs cut in half. a 50% reduction in cost, a 50% reduction. to many americans into this coverage gap. they stop taking their med

max baucus hopes to release health care legislation friday, setting up four votes for next week. shreveport, louisiana, shelton, on our independent line. good morning from go caller: i agree with the first -- good morning. caller: i agree with the first caller. the president, the congressperson, has let the american people down. all the industrialized countries in the world have some form of single-payer health care. and to try -- the whole debate is this -- the whole debate is just profit-driven, trying to keep the insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, and the doctors, which should be basically thinking about the health and welfare instead of their profits. host: so what should congress do with the president's proposal for health care? caller: i do not think congress is going to do anything. their hands are in the pie, and they are trying to give us the crumbs. what is going to have to be done is the people in this country are going to have to stand up and take a stand and vote -- even the president -- out of office, whenever it is, who do not have our interests at hear

and he has said that while his staff has talked to senator baucus' staff, baucus is the chairman of the committee, that he is not negotiating with max baucus. if we have only three days left to produce a bill and we will not have had a republican meeting to decide, ok, what's the republican position on this, then that's what why i say, it may have -- it may reflect the fact that i know our democratic friends know what a lot of us are thinking. and that may partially be reflected but it isn't as if we've sat down with them to write the bill. >> we've been through this before obviously with 1993, 1994 with bill clinton. but would you agree with regardless of what happens, it has to happen this year before we move into the mid-term election year? >> no. nothing has to happen this year. >> realistically can it happen? >> it's interesting, the president has said we have to do it now or else it won't happen. why is he saying that? i think he's saying that because he knows that the longer these left-wing ideas are hanging out there, the less the american public likes them. when they realize th

host: is senator baucus open to your ideas? guest: not in a million years. host: does that bother you? guest: it bothers me. it is every republican. host: he is a democrat. guest: i'm an independent. host: but you caucus with the democrats. guest: we have some wonderful democrats who are fighting to do the right thing, but you have some conservative democrats who will be working with republicans. from a political point of view, some people say we have to move forward in a bipartisan approach, which means that we have to have culture on a filibuster, which means that you have to the 60 votes. that means you have to make major compromises. my strong feeling is that if we end up with a bill that has 60 votes or 70 votes, it will be such a weak bill that it will not accomplish anything the american people want. i would rather pass a strong bill with 51 votes. the bottom line is that the current system is dysfunctional. we are wasting $300 billion and we need to move toward a cost- effective, comprehensive, universal program. this is a human right. we have to hav

baucus. i think what he said is a month ago he said single-payer is not on the table. what he indicated to us that he regretted saying that, that he should have held a hearing, he should have listened. he apologized. but the truth of the matter is in my view, i speak only for myself now, the power of the insurance companies make so much money out of our current health system and the drug companies are so strong that it's very hard for us to get the kind of hearing and the kind of success that we need to move to a single-payer system. >> so you are saying special interests are influencing the debate? >> influencing the debate, no. i think special interest on the debate. i don't want to shock you, but in fact, these guys have spent hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars to make sure we do not have a cost-effective comprehensive universal health care system that guarantees health care to all people. >> so what does that tell the version out there who doesn't have insurance and wondering wh

senate finance committee chairman max baucus who plans to unveil his plan next week has said he favors limiting the tax break. this is anna "the new york times" -- doctors group opposes public health care insurance plan. the ama says it will oppose creation of a government- sponsored insurance plan which president obama and many other democrats see as an essential element to remake the health care system. the opposition could be a mutuamajor hurdle. it is america's largest physician organization with about 2 minute 50,000 members. next caller, how you pay for caller: health care as the europeans do, with a gas tax. you drive a fuel-efficient car and it does not cost you that much. it costs less than some of the averages monthly premiums. individuals paying $800, families paying $1,500. on a similar note, many republicans are being very disingenuous. if john mccain were president at think he would be running the government and the economy almost the exact same way. bailing out the economy, bailing out the auto industry -- and they're blasting obama. i really believe that there are many

i'm honored to be here with the ranking member, spencer baucus and the senior members of the financial services committee. as we unveil as a conference a roadmap forward to address the number one issue that is on the minds of most americans which is the economy and we all know that an economic recovery is going to be predicated upon a resumption of normal credit conditions so that we can see expansion start to happen as far as jobs are concerned in this country. and we hear a lot and there's a lot of coverage about the heavy hand of government right now in the financial markets. to me, it really is a heavy hand of the obama administration. you know, who could have ever told that we would continue to find ourselves in a world of continued bailouts, handouts. we wake up one day and we're the proud owners of two of the largest car companies. it is this type of uncertainty and continued reach by government that this plan tries to react to and say, look, we do have a better way. we don't believe the government should be picking winners and losers and we want to see market forces return unde

but bottom line, without you, chairman baucus, we certainly would not be here today, and we offer all of our thanks for that. when the president issued his call for all parties to come together to address the issues of health care reform, aarp, representing over 40 million members, was proud to be one of the first to step forward. today's announcement means that struggling americans who have been looking for help in their pinkosky either books just to stay healthy, who say that one of the single largest drivers of their health care cost is prescription drugs. well, today americans and medicare in the dougnut hole, that gap in coverage, will have their brand name drug costs cut in half. . . they all know that health care reform can simply not wait. this is a major step forward, this is a signal that the process is working and will be working. aarp's work is not done. we will continue to work with you, mr. president, and the house and senate and the people who rely on medicare and further lower drug costs, to have guaranteed access for coverage for all americans. together we will comple

aarp is proud to stand with you, chairman baucus, senator dodd, to announce that the gap in medicare, the drug coverage gap known as the dougnut hole to all of you, will be substantially filled for millions of middle income americans as part of health reform. i want to applaud chairman baucus and senator dodd, who continue to be champions for this issue and have always fought for people who are struggling to make ends meet. we are honored to stand with both of you. senator baucus, it is your strong leadership of the senate finance committee and your creativity which led to the development of this very unique solution. we also support your finance committee's process, and we look forward with

he has said that while his staff has spoken to senator baucus, he is not negotiating with max baucus. we have not had a republican meeting to decide the republican position. it may reflect the fact that i know that our democratic friends know what a lot of us are thinking. host: you will be able to see the entire interview with senator jon kyl later on this morning after this program, at 10:00 a.m. on c-span. we are going to continue our discussion of spending by the obama administration, especially with regards to health and other areas right after this break. we will be right back. ♪ >> the government funding of direct aid to colleges and students is aid late 1960's thing that has grown rapidly since then. >> today, not even government- backed student loans at hillside cut -- hillsdale college are accepted. >> we have a lawyer in town that tries to keep the government from giving us money. he said there would be no use in trying to read the paper work. >> tonight, at 8:00, on c-span's "q&a." >> more nonfiction books with author's later today on c-span 2's "book tv." joel rosenberg

baucus. if there is only three days left to produce a bill and we will not have had a republican meeting to decide what the republican position is on this, that is why i say it may reflect the fact that i know our democratic friends know what all of us are thinking. that may be reflected, but it's not as if we have sat down with them to write the bill. >> we have been through this before with bill clinton in 1993. regardless of what happens, it has to happen this year before we move into the midterm election year, would you agree? >> no. nothing has to happen this year. >> realistically, politically, can happen? >> the president says we have to do it now or it will happen. why is he saying that? he is saying that because he knows the longer these left-wing ideas are hanging out there, left the american public likes him. when they realize their care will be rationed under his proposal, they will reject it and say that. when they realize they have to pay a lot more, they will be worried. the pr

it's not just senator baucus. it's every republican. let's be clear. >> i'm an independent, and that's why. >> but you caucus with the republicans. >> we have some wonderful democrats fighting to do the right thing. but you have some conservative democrats who will be working with republicans. from a political point, let me say this, there is some people say we have to move forward in a bipartisan approach which means that we have to have closer on a filibuster which means you have to have 60 votes which means you have to make major major compromises. my guess is, and i maybe wrong with this, but my strong feeling if we end up with a bill as 60 or 70 votes, it would be such a weak bill that it will not accomplish i think what the american people want. i would rather pass a strong vote with 51 votes than a week filled with 65 or 70 votes. the bottom line is the current system is dysfunctional, we are wasting 300, $400 billion we need to move toward a cost effective comprehensive universal program. we have to finally move in that directio

the baucus bill, we are told -- according to press results -- in the finance committee may cost $1.5 trillion over the next ten years. an independent study released yesterday says the kennedy bill may mean $4 trillion. the national government association says that medicaid itself will add a half trillion dollars to the state costs -- to the state costs over the next 10 years if reimbursement rates are increased, as they are proposed to be increased. this is on top of what the "washington post" said earlier this week is a set of proposals by the obama administration that would add nearly three times as much to the national debt over the next 10 years as we spent in all of world war ii. and this bill, mr. president, i'm sorry to say, is absolutely not a bipartisan bill. we're having a bipartisan discussion. we're all very friendly and civil to one another. chris dodd is doing a tremendous job of sitting in for senator kennedy. we all like him. but we know what a bipartisan bill is. it's when 15 or 20 of us from different sides of the aisle sit around a table and start from scratch and

senator baucus, it is your strong leadership with the finance committee and your creativity that led to the development of this unique solution. we also support you and look forward to the next up with optimism. the bottom line, without you, we would not be here today. we offer all of our thanks to you. >> when the president issued his call for all parties to come together to address the issues of health care reform, aarp, representing over 40 million members was proud to be one of the first to step forward. when today's announcement means that struggling americans looking for help in their pocketbook just to stay healthy, to say -- who say that one of the single largest drivers of their health care cost is prescription drugs. today, americans in medicare, the doughnut hole, the gap in coverage will have their brand name drug costs cut in half. a 50% reduction in drug costs, a 50% reduction. to many americans fall into this coverage gap. they stopped taking their medications, because they cannot afford it. now they will have a new opportunity to lead a healthier life. every american

in the first place -- working with chairman of barney frank and senator baucus. he is not letting the banks run roughshod interest rates fees. every caller says that their interest rates have gone up on their credit cards to almost 50%. host: washington, on our republican line. caller: i would give him a b. i'm a republican and probably disagree with much of a stuffy nose, but i do not think it is any of the political or government's fall we are in the situation. i think it is mostly just basically the public's fall because -- i am 20 years old and bought a house for $250,000.10 year ago. my payment is probably 40% of what i make and i'm still able to pay for. i have people around me twice my age losing their houses because they do not know how to spend their money. they're using credit cards. they're going over their limits and buying brand new cars they cannot afford. they're blaming it on the banks. for some reason the bank should have the responsibility of telling them they cannot afford it? you should be smart enough at 40 years old to know what you can affo

the main players are ted kennedy and max baucus. they are realistic that single- payer will not fly. this president is more pragmatic than thinking he would just push it through. host: our guest is also an author. if you read about something about two months ago concerning china, and the u.s. currency. it is complicated but you say we must be careful. you say it china owns an awful lot of the u.s. guest: i am not a financial expert. i started focusing on it since last september. but i have been reading and talking to experts. mark wolfe of "the financial times" anticipated this would happen. he is the chief financial correspondent, columnist for the paper. he identified this problem. the problem in housing in america including corruption and subprime loans was the product of several things one of which was the extraordinary flood of capital because china, japan, other parts of asia and the middle east were saving more than they could spend. then the fed loosened of the money. also, as that imbalance between us and china grew, the ch

baucus and then the democrats must guide the passage of the senate floor. on saturday president obama devoted his weekly address to the issue, saying that fixing health care is a necessity we cannot postpone any longer. we will show you in a moment the comments from newt gingrich on health care. iowa on the democratic line. caller: yes, my comment is basically, and i go back to 1992 when the debate between perot, bush, and clinton ran. perot knows a lot about health care from the blue cross companies in the software. his comment is that we should take a look at them and find out which one is the best inand apply it to the u.s. -- i think that should be used. host: the former speaker was asked about the administration's proposal. here's his reply. >> "the new york times" let out the cat this morning. the government will decide whether or not you live and severe restrictions on health care. a government plan so the government can take over and run the whole system. if you think the government cannot run general motors, why would you think the government can r

what i would say, the finance committee under senator baucus has been putting forward white papers that provide indications of where they are intending to go. for those who are interested in the major condor's of reform, i would refer you to those white papers with regard to the finance committee, but you are right that the next month or 2 is going to be where you are going to see the reform packages coming together. >> alice? >> peter, as you know, there is a long history of congressional resistance to doing things like competitive bidding on durable medical the claimant or things that medpac recommended have gone nowhere. is there a new mood on capitol hill, a different understanding of the necessity of doing some of these cost savings things? >> yes. let me answer that in 2 ways. yes, there's widespread appreciation that the reform must be at least deficit neutral and contain costs savings and there is a surprising recognition, a significant recognition that a change in the process would be beneficial. senator baucus has spoken about the fact that he doesn't feel, both because of und

senator baucus says he's taking it off the table. he has more to do with the progress of the legislation than i do. it is something that we cover specifically in "daily dose." we all long for peace that is in the pipeline here. you should be able to read it in our newspaper in the next few days. it is not something we are ignoring. as you can imagine, a lot of people have a lot of important aspects that they want us to cover. we're going to try to get to them all as quickly as we can. caller: ok. let me say something that is general. you refer to the article that i have of course read. that article is about process. i am talking about content. you're talking about how things get done. i am talking about the actual facts. am i still on? host: you are. you are not talking to yourself. caller: it is hard to tell. because of the system of private insurance, we waste half a trillion of dollars each year it that we would saved if we switched to medicare for all. if you get medicare for all, you pick up this money. you can get without costi

education, labor and pensions -- signed requesting some very reasonable steps to be taken by chairman baucus, chairman kennedy and senator dodd, who is standing in for our friend and colleague, senator kennedy. and we asked the chairman to release the details of their plans to reform health care. we asked them to do so in a timely manner to allow us time to read and understand the policies and to get reactions from our constituents, ie. the people who will benefit or won't benefit, not the mention the providers of health care. we asked them to give us the estimates of how much their plans would cost and how it would impact everyday americans. and finally, we asked them to identify how they intended to pay for these plans. it was my sincere hope that by receiving this information, we could better participate in the quest to ensure that every american -- every american -- has meaningful access to health care, not to mention patient choice. well, unfortunately the health care reform process has been so corrupted by artificial time lines and a hurry-up and a writing hell for leather mentality, i

the picture of senator max baucus, also the head of aarp and senator christopher dodd who is taking over for senator ted kennedy in supervising as chairman of the house committee hearings continue this week. it points out the lobby for drug companies, pharmaceutical research manufacturing organization said it pledged $80 billion of 10 years to help reform are troubled health-care system. the commitment came in a deal with the white house and senator max baucus, democrat of montana and chairman of the finance committee. but further in the story, senate aides and drug company lobbyists say the $80 billion reflected total projected savings to the health care system and included unspecified future concessions, besides the drug discounts and the coverage gap. some reflects savings to the government, some reflects savings to older americans, but all the savings from closing the so-called bill mudhole would go to beneficiaries, and not to the government. flint, michigan. good morning. caller: good morning. host: we will be in your town next week. what is the situation like? caller: i would like

so i appreciate the urgency of focusing on health care reform working under chairman baucus and ranking member grassley on the finance committee. i know other senators have been working hard at this as well. senator kennedy and senator enzi on th the "help" committee and i want to urge us to keep working very hard to work through all the complexities and moving parts of this very challenging problem. but i also want to say that i think how we discuss health care reform is very important but i'm also concerned that some voices are greeted with derision or even implicit threats that suggest they better keep quiet if they know what's good for them. tremendous amount of work has gone into the series of three finance committee roundtables and walk throughs but i'm disturbed by some reports that perhaps senators and certainly staff have urged key stakeholders in the health care reform debate to keep their mouth shut. mr. president, every american citizen has a right to petition their government. this is a right every american citizen has. and no american should be told to keep quiet on the su

there are many hurdles that remain but i want to thank chairman baucus and ranking member grassley for their very hard work on this extremely complex, difficult issue. we've never had an issue that involved as many people in this country. 100% of the people. and it's important that we get it right, take the time to get it right. member grassley has been very cooperative on it and chairman baucus has been open on it, and that's been extremely helpful. we've spent hours upon hours in that committee receiving inputs and options from both sides on how to reform our nation's health care system. it stands in great contrast to the partisan process that was unfortunately unfolded in the health, education, labor, and pensions committee that we've been tediously working through. there's been a lot of comments about how many amendments we turned in. i think we had about 380 amendments. i had to remind them that if you don't get any piece of the drafting, you've got to get your opinions in somehow, and you do that through multiple amendments. of course i would mention that probably half of those a

i think max baucus needs to be stripped of his personal insurance. anyone at that what set against the public for their best interest to cover, and give the people of america what they deserve, with their own taxpayer money, by the way, with our own choice, needs to be booted out of congress. thank you. host: north carolina is next on the independent line. caller: i would like to just make an opinion about the two- party system we have here in america. to me, it does not seem like the republican party or the republican party have america's best interests at heart. it just means that, if i can make up but, that is what i will do. or if we have to cut programs here, or spend

this deal marks a major triumph for senator baucus, as well as the administration. the montana democrat has been negotiating with numerous groups for weeks as he tries to draft legislation that meet the goal of health care coverage. not adding to the deficit. -- denn visit." the economy -- the deficit." the economy is the focus of a number of stories. inside a "the new york times," a piece from cleveland, ohio. "monday is the 40th anniversary of the kite a holder river -- cloy of the river -- cuyahoga river

host: in your july article you right, every week there is another max baucus, another can conrad and ben nelson huffing and puffing that we better forget about single payer health care, carbon tax, nationalizing the banks, funding for mass transit, these are men with tiny constituencies who have been in the senate for decades without doing a thing. these are the worst abuses of the bush administration who have come forward now to check the president for trying to do too much. guest: this is just one of the things, to see all of these people suddenly take the lead. people like max blog was -- bacchus, well who are they to say single payer is off the table? the idea that things will even get debated because a senator from a state where the jackrabbits outnumber the people, it is not even clear he is representing his own people without the lobby is behind him. this is something that will have to be reined in. i don't see any leadership in the senate. i don't think anybody quite knows what harry reid is doing, or what direction he is pushing anybody. it is a sad thing to see. it is erodi

conducted a parallel, and i think, quite frankly, a better process so far, and i'd like to thank chairman baucus, ranking member grassley, their staffs for their efforts, but we still have not seen a detailed proposal or cost estimates, and we are being pushed to mark something up in the next few weeks as well. i want everyone to understand why process is important. health care reform is important, to be sure. getting things done obviously that is important. but so is process. it's not because i do not want health care reform or any member in this body, i don't think, is in a position to say that they do not want health care reform. i want every single kansan, every single american to be able to see the doctor of their choice when they want to, especially when they have to. and i speak today because this health care reform bill will likely involve one of the biggest, most important votes that i or any one of my colleagues cast during the time that we are privileged to serve in the senate of the united states. this health care reform bill will affect the lives of every single american. it will re

chairman dodd and chairman frank, along with rep baucus, they will be meeting with me throughout this process. they met with me earlier this year to jump-start the discussion of reform. these reforms are also drawing on conversations with regulators, including those that i met with this morning, as well as consumer advocates, and the broader public. in these efforts, we seek a careful balance. i have always been a strong believer in the power of the free market. it has been in will remain the engine of america's process -- progress, a source of prosperity unrivaled in america's history. i believe that our role is not to disparage wealth, but to expand its reach. not to stifle the market, but unleashed its ability for creativity to make this nation the envy of the world. that is our goal, restoring markets in which we reward hard work. in which honest and vigorous competition in the system is prized. those who game the system are thwarted. we seek to put in place rules that will allow the market to promote innovation while discouraging abuse. we are looking to create a framework that i

senators grassley and baucus both received the most money from the health-care industry. host: would you like to reply to the first part? guest: a lot of our recent history in the previous administration up until today remains shrouded in secrecy. there is a lot of archaeological work required to document the history of the last 8-10 years and overcome its secrecy. the president has asked jim jones to oversee the 90-day review of classification. some critics have pointed out that the heads of agencies doing the review have not asked for public input. is it necessary? guest: it is desirable. the primary customer for declassified intermission is the public. one would think that it is important to get public input on expectations and demands -- for the classified information. until there will be an informal advisory group. the board will organize some kind of session to receive public comment and suggestion in the process. host: has technology exacerbated the problem, particularly with e-mails over the last 10 years? the volume of those must also increase the volume of docum

closely with the relevant chairs and the house and senate and leaders like senator dodd and senator baucus and with members of both parties who are willing to commit themselves to this critical task. our families, our businesses, and our long-term fiscal health and demands that we act and act now. today, we are. i am grateful for all those who helped make this a possible. and a to those here in washington who have grown accustomed to the sky is falling prognoses and the 70's that we cannot get this done, i have to repeat and revive an old saying we had from the campaign. yes, we can. we're going to get this done. thank you very much, everybody. >> sir, anything you want to say about iran today? [no audio] >> the president announcing at the $80 billion deal with drug companies to help cover costs of medicare recipients. the president has scheduled his first rose garden news conference for tomorrow. the white house saying the president will take questions from reporters at 12:30 p.m. on tuesday. he previously took formal questions from reporters in the east room and on international trips. t

the photograph that included a picture of senator max baucus and the head of a arpey and chris dodd who is taking -- and the head of the aarp. robert points out that the lobby for drug companies, the thomas senecal research at manufacturers association had pledged $80 billion -- the pharmaceutical research and manufacturers association pledged $60 billion. further into the story of drug company lobbyists say that the $80 billion reflected a total savings to the health care system and included unspecified future concessions. some of the money reflects savings to the government, summer flex savings to older americans, but all of the savings would go to beneficiaries. -- some of the savings reflects savings to older americans. we're going to be in your town next week. caller: good. host: what is the situation like? caller: i would like to talk about the banks. we have citizens bank here, at standard and poor lowered their credit rating. they just received money to back them up, and i went there yesterday and all i could offer you was 1.5% of cd's. i think it is ridiculous. a man had retire

feingold, dodd, burris, durbin, murray, tester, udall of colorado, klobuchar, reed of rhode island, baucus, merkley, lincoln, cantwell, dorgan. mr. reid: i ask that the mandatory quorum be waived. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. reid: i ask the senate resume legislative session. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask now that we proceed to a period of monk business, senators allowed to speak -- of morning business, senators allowed to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: madam president, let me just say a brief word on the cloture that was not invoked on the travel bill. i hope that everyone understands what obstructionism is. this is obstructionism at its best, and it goes along with what the republicans said they wanted to do and that is stop everything. as indicated in "roll call" newspaper last week. this is a bill that saves the government money, almost a half a billion dollars over ten years. it would create in the first year of the -- after passage of the bill 40,000 jobs. t

single-payer, and i notice that it is deliberately left out of the panel by the committee led by spencer baucus, who is supposed to be a democrat, but i cannot believe he is. single payer has worked in europe, latin america, and parts of asia. there is nothing wrong with it. it is a very workable system, and the government does not control you. there is choice. he built that in to satisfy republicans, but they are dead letter. they will not cooperate. guest: democrats are not pushing single-payer in congress. if there is a two-tier system, that is not the kind of approach they want. if you have resources, you can opt out and have the ability to go to a private facility in new england. that is

guest: it depends how it is structured, how the senate committees and senator baucus and the opposition and other members of congress do with this. there is no plan, by the way. no one has a plan. there is a lot of good talk but no one has presented a plan. concerning the federal program, all i am saying is that you had a choice of what health care provider to the blood. you were not mandated or toll. it is the best program i have ever had. host: we are joined from pennsylvania. caller: thank you, c-span. that is the obligatory comment. host: thanks for watching. we cannot do without your calls. caller: you do a good job. just a brief comment -- i am a dedicated reader of "the new york times" -- there are several great reporters. guest: it is quite a team there. caller: here is a political question for the both of you. why did single-payer get excluded totally politically by the democrats? i know from the republicans what they did not like it, but mr. blankely, from a political perspective why would republicans be opposed -- single-payer reduces the cost to small business and business i

this is from max baucus and ed kennedy, a key democrats. also writing in "bill" today is a key republican player, chuck grassley, r he voices concerns. -- this is in "the hill" newspaper to do. he says there's no shortage of ideas, but most fall short of revenue to pay for them. some favor universal coverage financed entirely by the taxpaying public. i caution those who favor driving 120 million more americans into a taxpayer- financed insurance system that the federal government is an unfair competitor and would likely run the private sector of business. let's take the first call from the republican line in indiana. caller: i appreciate it. my basic overview is that america cannot pay for everybody. it is difficult for politicians to turn around and say "no." i believe that if you go to a hospital for any need if you cannot pay for you should be turned away. we have to be responsible financially. we have to be responsible for our own actions. nobody should have to pay for anybody else's mishaps or inefficiencies. if you cannot make it, can

max baucus said previously that the bill would come out this week. mark up would be next week. he said earlier in the week we will have them marked which they are ready. they can say how much that bill will cost. trying very, very hard to get the public to support that panel. that bill could come out next week. you'll never know. but at the end of the day, at the end of the year if they get the bill done they get the bill done. so there have been all sorts of timeline that have come out. one that came out of a meeting with democrats. obviously the key curitiba's with the president of a few weeks ago. we heard earlier, on capitol hill when they passed the medicare prescription benefit. i think the president signed that into law. >>host: we are talking about health care reform. let's take our first call from mary on the democratic line from pennsylvania. >>caller: good morning. my concern is pharmaceutical company's advertising on television. i think it raises the cost of the price of drugs. my doctor is the one who should be prescribing my medicine. i don't need it to be adverti

the president announced an agreement with senator baucus to save $80 billion over the next 10 years. when you're talking about the cost of health care reform, how does that fit into the equation? guest: i think had we known at the beginning when medicare and medicaid first can a bailout, had we known the future role that drugs were going to play as the therapy for almost every illness we have now, i don't think there's any question that drugs would have been part of the program at that time. but as science has advanced we have come to seek the drugs play a larger role. this is the one of the most controversial issues. we are just at the very beginning of health care reform. i don't think anyone right now could say where this will go. it is as if we have entered a vast forest and we are about two steps into it. we have hearings that will go on all summer. we have all of these interest groups coming in. i don't think we can say what will happen on drugs and bring down those costs. it will be a month or so before we can even see the shape of this. host: let me go back to sunday morning.

max baucus, a democrat out of montana, has been adamant in wanting to produce a bill that would garner republican support. doing so would make sure that it has staying power of the coming decades, let alone over the next year or two. i would like to see if the sketch of the bill that they markup will leave republicans screening or frowning. >> thank you for talking with us. >> in a few moments, treasury secretary tim geithner on the economy and the government's efforts to aid financial institutions. in half an hour, senate term rakowski talks about the energy bill being marked up in committee. -- murkowski talks about the energy bill being marked up in committee. on "washington journal" tomorrow, we will discuss the supplemental spending bill. and with the former director of the national institutes of health, and she joins us at 9:00 eastern to discuss health care. after that, our guest is the un bureau chief of the "the new york times." he has written a new book called "at hezbollah wishes you a happy birthday." a couple of live events to tell you about our companion network, c-span3.

and but congress senator baucus and senator kennedy our committee chairman of the finance and house committee really want to get something done and we have had not have that combination and on the house side there are many powerful and smart people committed to healthcare reform henry waxman is among one of the leaders that is a unique combination of talent that want to get something done and they understand the problems and what is doable and i think we have a chance to really have a difference and put ourselves on the right course to changing our system so we can get full coverage of americans at a reasonable cost and with high quality for the first time. thank you very much [applause] >> thank you very much ekekiel emanuel for your comments this evening i am the editorial page editor from the san princess go conoco will not only have a full house but an active house with quite a few questions so let's get right to them. first of all, probably have the questions we receive are in one way or another related to the criticism of the single payer system. so let's start with one asking you to el

. >> senator baucus is expected to unveil details on health care reform. what is your feeling on that? >> we should not go there. -- when i look at what is happening to people's incomes, the middle class americans have seen no wage increase for several years. many of them are doing givebacks to what they were making in 2004 or 2005. everybody at the plain dealer did a 12% pay cut and that puts people back to what they were making in 2004 or 2005. i do not think you post taxes on middle class workers on their health care. >> [inaudible] >> i would have difficulty supporting health care plan that does not keep the insurance companies honest. we talked about the progress that we have made already, that the insurance companies are willing to suggest -- except rules on how we do community rating on those issues. he thinks of as i do that if you do not have some public auction, it could look like medicare or something different. so kind of public auction to keep the company's honest. >> [unintelligible] >> we talked about trade and i told him to me -- we did not

the leaders of the committee on which i serve, the finance committee, chairman baucus and senator grassley, have been extremely fair and gracious. they have put untold hours into this issue. both of them have spent an exceptional amount of time with me, and they have done that literally to offer to any member of the senate to sit down and spend time with them to try to address this bill in a bipartisan way. in the "help" committee, senator kennedy, senator dodd, senator enzi -- senator enzi serves on both committees -- are reflecting the same kind of good will. i've told the leaders of both of these committees, i'm going to do everything i can to bring to them the ideas that i've outlined today, that have strong bipartisan support, that have been scored by the congressional budget office as saving money and pushing the cost curve downward. i have great confidence in the leaders of those two committees because they are showing they want to spend the time to bring the united states senate together. a lot of us on this floor -- i see the distinguished senator from mai -- have worked together

the president sent a letter to senator baucus and senator kennedy saying that health care reform must not add to our deficits of the next few years. he said we should only spend a dollar we say. are we to assume that pay go should apply to the health care reform bill? >> the estimates over a 10 year time frame are a bit difficult . ongoing concerns and it's something i think the chair man shares is currently there is no scoring for instance for any prevention and wellness strategy. i am not sure there is an expert who believes it won't save money, and yet it is small scored. so whether or not the kind of transformational health reform will actually have a dollar for dollar set off on day 1i can't tell you -- >> so paygo doesn't apply to the bill we are considering? >> senator, i think it does. i haven't seen the outlines exactly what the president is proposing. i know there was discussion of whether or not what is the year ten for instance for the health reform bill? is it ten years from today it starts or the date passes? and if it is there's lively debate about strategies whether th

but i hope that senator grassley and senator baucus and the finance committee can work in a bipartisan way. i know they are trying to do that. i hope that our democratic colleagues on the house side like mr. waxman, mr. rangel, speaker pelosi, and leader hoyer, will listen to our leader, john boehner. the republican task force has worked diligently over the last three months trying to come up with alternatives so that we can work together for the good of thank you for joining us. >> @ noon, the u.s. house devils in four legislative business. on the agenda, a bill that provides federal rebates for purchases of fuel-efficient vehicles. we spoke yesterday with the capital and reporter for the view of today's debate. >> joining us on the telephone is just aoshj. cash for clunkers, how would it work? >> it would offer americans up to $4.5000 to trade in a gas guzzler for new vehicle. there is a discrepancy on the threshold. the house proposal, which came out of the energy and commerce committee, was issued, the threshold for older vehicles would be 15 miles a gallon. to qualify for the cred

finance chairman max baucus and democrats had of montana has been ottoman -- adamant in garnering significant public support and he believes do so will ensure whatever passes his staying power or this coming decades monotone the next coming year or two and so i am curious to see if he's sort of sketch o