durbin: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of senate resolution 382, submitted earlier today. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: senate resolution 3 382, supporting the goals and ideals of observing the national slavery and trafficking prevention month from january 1 through february 1, 2010, to raise awareness of and opposition to modern slavery. mr. durbin:the presiding officee objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection, the senate will proceed. mr. durbin: i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate, and any statements related to th

durbin: i would be more than happy to allow that comment. mr. gregg: i fully agree with that analysis. the first 30 years of the class act will generate revenues that will add to the federal treasury and -- and that was the purpose of my discussion. that's the point i made. the first 30 years of this proposal is that younger people will be paying in and very few people will be taking out because they will not have yet qualified for the insurance because they won't be old enough to go into assisted living. mr. durbin: reclaiming the floor, i would just say if i understand what the senator has said, he is concerned that in the year 2040 that this program may not work as effectively as we had hoped it would work. i trust in the wisdom of future members of the senate and the house if that's necessary to modify the program, but it's certainly worthwhile for us to at least reflect on what this program is. it is a voluntary, self-funded insurance program for long-term care for american citizens. it was one of the visions of senator kennedy as part of h

durbin: mr. president, reserving the right to object. the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: mr. president, if i might engage in a colloquy with the minority leader, perhaps there would be a better understanding of his unanimous consent request before i make my final decision. i don't know. i have to ask unanimous consent. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: i'd like to ask if the -- as i understand it now, when it comes -- let's set aside crapo and baucus and assume that there is commonlyity on that. as i understand it now, the dorgan amendment which would allow for the importation of pharmaceuticals and drugs into the united states has been offered on our side as well as a lautenberg amendment which has some history in the senate. it was previously offered by senator cochran of mississippi and establishes a standard for certification of safety of the drugs coming in. now, could the senator from kentucky describe to me what the new amendment, mccain amend

durbin: madam president? the presiding officer: under the previous order, the time until 1:30 p.m. shall be equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees. the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: madam president, i thank the majority leader for designating haft of the time between now and 1:-- half of the time between now and 1:30 that i should control. and i would first like to thank all the people that are here, the staff and pages. this has been a tough session for many but tougher for many of them than some members of the senate because they have had to wait until the very last senator of either political party has finished for the day many times before they go home, and i was reflecting on that yesterday afternoon in the midst of one of the toughest historic snowstorms here in washington, d.c., that hundreds of staff people were waiting at their post, doing their jobs on a saturday in the middle of a snowstorm when virtually every business around washington was closing down.

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 measures that the senate would consider any more important than the one we're about to vote on. in about an hour or less, we'll be voting for the defense appropriation bill. this is a bill which is critically important to our nation's defense and security, as secretary gates reminded us today in a letter to the united states senate. it's also a bill that's important to the men and wom

durbin: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: mr. president, for those who are keeping score and following the senate and may wonder what we are doing here, we are in the middle of a filibuster, which is an attempt to stop legislation from moving forward. it is a filibuster inspired by the republican side of the aisle, and the bill that they are filibustering and trying to delay is the department of defense appropriations bill. this is the bill that funds our military. it is the bill that funds our soldiers and sailors, airmen and marines who are at war in iraq and afghanistan. it is a bill that almost without fail passes overwhelmingly with a bipartisan majority in the senate and the house each year. and it has passed the house of representatives with a substantial vote of about 394- 394-35, 164 republicans voted for it over there. there was no controversy associated with it. and yet when it came to the senate, the senate republicans announced they were going to filibuster the defense appropriations bill. why? do they disagree with

durbin durbin: madam presidw much time do i have remaining? mr. durbin: madam president -- madam president madam president i'd like to suggest the absence of a quorum and at that time under the quorum be allotted equally to both sides. the presiding officer: without objection, the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: mr. chambliss: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from georgia. mr. chambliss: what is the current status of the senate? the presiding officer: the senate is in a quorum call. mr. chambliss: i would ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. chambliss: and, is it correct, madam president, that the minority side has the hour from 1:30 until 2:30? the presiding officer: that is correct under the previous order the time until 11:30 p.m. shall be controlled in alternating one-hour blocks with the republicans controlling the first hour. mr. chambliss: i would ask unanimous consent that senators cornyn, graham, isakson, and myself be allowed to have a colloquy for

president, first of all, i want to commend senator durbin for his great leadership. he is our assistant majority leader, and for all of his handiwork on this bill. he has been one of our strongest proponents for making coverage more affordable for small businesses. and he just spoke about that. in fact, under the manager's amendment, we have expanded even more than what we did in the original bill credits for small businesses. these credits now start in 2010, they start next year. they're available to more small business firms than what we had originally had in the original bill and all of that thanks to the hard work and intervention by senator durbin. i might also note that we have a provision also in the manager's amendment relating to cardiac care, congenital heart disease. i know that senator durbin had a personal tragedy in his own family because of that, and so we now have a new program to track the epidemiology of congenital heart disease. section 10411, in case anyone is taking notes, and it expands and coordinates research at n.i.h. on congenital heart dise

durbin: mr. president, could the chair inform me how much time was used on the republican side during the last group of speakers? the presiding officer: 42 minutes and 14 seconds. mr. durbin: i thank the chair, and i am going to proceed to speak in the same manner and yield to the senator from vermont, and our time will be less than that in total, so i see the senator from louisiana is here so we're going to be speaking less than 42 minutes. we guarantee you that much. and we're going to follow the same process, if there's no objection, that was just followed where three republican speakers spoke in that 42-minute period of time. and i ask unanimous consent that senator sanders be recognized after me to speak and that our total time be no more than 42 minutes. the presiding officer: is there objection? objection was heard. mr. durbin: well, mr. president, i just offered that to the republican side and they asked me for permission and i gave permission, unanimous consent, so we'll speak as long as

durbin: the point dr. gawandi makes is that there is this conspiracy of silence, this fear of outing a doctor, you know, a senior -- mr. brown brown: they don't wano speak up. mr. durbin: doctors and nurses aren't willing to speak up, other colleagues are not willing to speak up and they should for the sake of their own profession but certainty the sake of the patients. mr. brown: so you're arguing, senator durbin, that if there was a mechanism that -- an environment where nurses and doctors would be willing to speak up if there was a doctor that -- a surgeon that had a problem with alcohol, that the problem -- this issue would not go away certainly but this issue would be much less serious, the issue of malpractice, the medical errors, the deaths, the injuries that come from some kind of medical error, medical malpractice, would be much alleviated? mr. durbin: i am. and i would see that my time is over. and i would just say -- just thank the senator from ohio and i would say this is one part of the answer

durbin: mr. president, reserving the right to object. the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: i'm not sure i would support or oppose the amendment offered by the senator from indiana, but this matter has been on the floor for three days. there is a pending amendment from your side of the aisle from senator mikulski on this issue. i would hope you have approached her to incorporate your language. i don't know if you have approached senator mikulski, but at this point we think we have some effort being made at fairness on both sides, that there will be democratic amendments and republican amendments both offered, mikulski, murkowski and mccain and bennet, so i would object because i believe we have the basis for a fair agreement at this point. the presiding officer: objection is heard. is there okay to the original request? mr. vitter: mr. president, reserving my right to object. the presiding officer: the senator from louisiana. mr. visitor: again, -- mr. vitter: again, i'm v

durbin: misin -- on the clock. mr. durbin: sorry. yesterday, the majority leader propounded a unanimous consent request to have four votes with respect to the health care bill. the republican leader rejected the request. they needed time to review an amendment. therefore, mr. president, i now ask unanimous consent that following a period of morning business today the senate resume consideration of h.r. 3590 for the purpose of considering the pending crapo amendment to commit and the dorgan amendment number 2793 as modified, that senator baucus be recognized to call up a side by side amendment to the crapo motion. that once that amendment has been reported by number, senator lautenberg be called on his side by side amendment to the dorgan amendment. there be five minutes of debate equally divided and controlled in the usual form, that upon the use or yielding back of the time, the senate proceed to vote in relation to the lautenberg amendment, that upon the disposition of the lautenberg amendment the senate then proceed to vote in rel

durbin: i would be happy to. mr. baucus: i want ask my colleague, who knows senate procedures so well, why are we having a 1:00 a.m. vote anyway? isn't it possible it could be a different time? mr. durbin: i thank the senator from montana, because he's exactly right. under the usual business of the senate, we agree that we'll do something that is more thoughtful and humane and have a vote at an earlier time. senator reid has approached senator mcconnell and said, we have one of our senators, senator byrd of west virginia, with significant health proble problems, who's been brought to 9 floor now -- brought to the floor now early in the morning, late at night in a wheelchair. he looks better than ever, i might add. but the fact is that he is being asked to show up at 1:00 in the morning because we couldn't reach what is usual comity and gentlemanly accord on scheduling a vote. and it's unfortunate, because now we face this 1:00 a.m. vote. and with no cooperation on the other side to even change the vote for a very hum

coburn who was followed by senator durbin. we do have short pieces but what is the issue? >> senator coburn is a straight talk gain, the dazed and get the little emotional about this issue. he was on the floor this afternoon and it was sort of the acknowledging that republicans can do much now to stop the bill from passing out of the senate. >>host: we have mr. cockburn and mr. durban from earlier today. here is a look. >> it is not about being bipartisan but you can take-it-or-leave-it. the american parade that somebody can not make the vote tonight. so that we can actually get the metal, and i understand

durbin: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority whip. mr. durbin: mr. president, following leader remarks the senate will resume consideration of the conference report to aaccompany h.r. 8288, with the time until 9:30 a.m. equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees. at 9:30 a.m. the senate will proceed to vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the conference report under an agreement last night the vote on adoption of the conference report will occur tomorrow, sunday, december 13. mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority whip. mr. durbin: mr. president, does the clerk need to report the bill? the presiding officer: under the previous order the leadership time is reserved. under the previous order the senate will resume consideration of the conference report to accompany 3288, which the clerk will report. the clerk: conference report to accompany h.r. 3288, an act making appropriations for the departments of transportation and housing and urban

durbin: thank you madam president. madam president, i would just say when senator mcconnell came to the floor after the ruling of the chair and the decision of the chair, he said that the plain language of the senate precedent the manual that governs senate procedure is that unanimous consent of all members was required before the senator from vermont could with withdraw his ality while it was being -- amendment while it was being read. he said it required unanimous consent, but that is not what the language of the senate rules that i've read say. they say that a senator has as a matter of right under rule 15, paragraph 2, the right to withdraw his amendment before action is taken. in this case that i mentioned earlier, argument in 1992, back up the parliamentarian's decision and that interpretation of the rule. so i would say that it didn't work today to stop or slow down the senate. currently we are not technically debating health care reform. before us now is the department of defense appropriation bill. the confere

durbin: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the next amendment in order be one offered by senator whitehouse of rhode island which is at the desk, that the other matter in order during today's session be a hatch motion to commit regarding medicare advantage, that no other amendments or motions to commit be in order during today's session, and that the time in sequence following this unanimous consent request -- i don't want to disadvantage the senator from new hampshire, but if it is our turn on this side of the aisle, i would ask that senator whitehouse first be recognized for the purpose of calling up his amendment, then the senator is chairman -- that i be recognized next for no more than 15 minutes, and at that point it's my understanding senator hatch has asked for the floor for one hour on his amendment. if there are any other requests, i would be glad to add them to the unanimous consent request at this point. mr. gregg: reserving the right to object, my only concern is that would

senator durbin has said 100. the illinois delegation when they got a briefing recently we're told between 50-100. this is the category of people that... of the 200 or so in guantanamo now, some will be deported. five we know are going to new york. those accused in the 9/11 attacks. some will be tried in other federal courts. this remaining group, the ones that will need for the time being neither be tried nor deport reasonable doubt the ones we're talking about. >> warner: i gather the one slated for military commissions. they're going to hold those military commissions at the facility. >> right. but that is a group that could be determined once they're there. the determinations won't all necessarily be done. and the commissions will be held at the facility. >> warner: now, what about this flap that seems to have develop or seems to be there about this category of prisoners that the president once said there would be some who would be untry-able because either the evidence against them is tainted or would comprom

durbin: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority whip. mr. durbin: i ask consent the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. durbin: mr. president, today all day we've been debating the health care reform bill which has been a matter worked on in the senate and the house for a solid year. i want to salute the senator from wyoming, senator enzi, who joined with civil other senators in i understand 1 separate meetings talking about this bill -- 61 separate meetings talking about this bill in an effort that didn't bear fruit as they'd hoped but was a bipartisan effort to come up with some sort of solution to our health care situation in america. i hope that we can still reach some bipartisan accommodation before this bill passes. at this point in time, only one republican senator has voted for any form of senate health care reform and that was senator snowe in the senate finance committee. we hope others will join us before this bill comes t

durbin: i will. mr. whitehouse: i'm interested in the parliamentary situation that took place earlier whereby one of our members was actually obliged to withdraw an amendment that was going to be voted on by all of us because of an insistence on part of the other side, that 800 pages, be read by our poor clerk, before that vote should take place. and i -- i have also heard the other side say that we want to get going and we want to move toward votes. and i would be interested in the distinguished majority whip's reflection on the extent to which a procedural objection to force the clerk to read 800 pages of an amendment and deny one of our colleagues his vote fairly represents a desire to move forward and get through our votes. mr. durbin: i'd say in response to the senator from rhode island, that we have heard repeatedly that people want debate, amendments, and vote. and, yet, what happened on the floor today when the senator from oklahoma, senator coburn, refused to give consent to suspend the reading

durbin: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that on the conclusion of senator ensign's remarks that i be recognized for a period of time equal to that utilized by senator ensign. further, that after the conclusion of my remarks members then be recognized in alternating fashion and that they be permitted to speak for up to ten minutes each. further, if there's any extensions of time requested, then the other side be accorded the same. i ask the democratic speakers be as follows: senator franken, senator lautenberg, senator stabenow, senator dodd, senator kaufman. the presiding officer: is there objection? a senator: mr. president? reserving the right to object, and i won't. i just want to make a clarification that we wouldn't object to a couple of the people going without alternating so that we can have a couple of people that also go without alternate. mr. enzi: hopefully we can make some arrangements on the time limits. i like the provision in there that if one goes longer, then the other sid

durbin: mr. president, before the senator speaks, i'd like to ask consent to follow the speaker from tennessee. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. corker: i can't imagine anybody better to follow me than the senator from illinois. how much time is left on minority time? the presiding officer: 12 minutes. mr. corker: 12 minutes. okay. and to the senator from illinois, it might not take quite 12 minutes. i'm here to speak regarding the gregg amendment. this health care debate in many ways has been going on the better part of this entire year. and there are obviously differences in this body over philosophical issues and how health care needs to be delivered. one of the things that i hope has come across is that all of us would like to see health care reform. i campaigned on health care reform. i used to be commissioner of finance for state of tennessee. and in that -- in that particular role, i oversaw the medicaid programs in the state called 10-care and i saw firsthand the tremendous p

durbin: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority whip. mr. durbin: mr. president, it's my understanding the democratic side has 30 minutes now. the presiding officer: the senator is correct. mr. durbin: i see the senator from oregon is here. if i could have a few minutes to respond and then turn the floor over to him for as much time as he would need. first, the history lesson, and sometimes facts are tenuous, difficult, sticky things you can't get rid of. so let's look at the facts. when william jefferson clinton left the presidency, america's budget was in surplus. for the first time in 30 years, we were generating more revenue than we were spending. we were adding life and longevity to the social security system, to medicare and many others. we did this with a prosperous, booming economy, one of the most prosperous we have seen in modern history, creating new jobs, new businesses, new home opportunities across america. and when william jefferson clinton left office, we had a national debt of $5 trillion. in came the republicans. billing themselves as

durbin: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of h.r. 4165 received from the house. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: h.r. 4165, an act to extend through december 31, 2010, the authority of the secretary of the army to accept and expend funds contributed by nonfederal public entities to expedite the processing of permits. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. durbin: i ask unanimous consent the bill be read three times and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate, and any statements related to the bill be placed in the record at the appropriate place as if read. the presiding of

durbin: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: mr. president, following leader remarks, the senate will resume the house message with respect to h.r. 3326, the department of defense appropriations act. the time until 12:00 is, as the chair mentioned, will be equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees, and i've been designated by the majority leader. the time from 12:00 until 4:00 p.m. will be devoided and -- divided with the republicans controlling the first block and the majority controlling the next pwhrofpblgt if required to use all 30 hours of postcloture debate time the vote on the motion to concur with respect to the defense bill will occur around 7:30 a.m. tomorrow morning. senators are advised to plan accordingly in light of a winter storm expected to hit the d.c. area and virginia tonight and tomorrow morning. mr. president, i understand h.r. 4314 is at the desk and due for second reading. the presiding officer: the clerk will read the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 4314, an act to permit co

durbin: not at this time. i will tell you this, the people who live here are tax-paying citizens of the united states. they pay their taxes, they vote for president, they send their young men and women off to war, just like every state in the union. and i think they are entitled to some of the basic rights we enjoy in each of our own states. i also want to say a word about the needle exchange program. i get nervous around needles. i don't like to run into the doctor and say, give me another shot. and most people feel the same way. so taking a n issue like this on is not a lot of town start with. why are we -- so taking on an issue like this is not a lot of fun to start with. so why are we talking about needle exchange program in the district of columbia? for one simple reason -- the aids infection rate in the district of columbia, washington, d.c., the nation's capital, is the highest in the nation. we are living in a city with the highest incidence of needle-related hiv-aids and meningitis and other things th

demint: senator, this was the demint-durbin amendment. it is mirrored after the speaker -- speaker pelosi's bill. they have this rule in the house. they can make it workable. certainly the integrity of this body is worth considering. i would encourage my colleagues, at this point when the public is looking at us, asking for some trust and integrity, we can make this bill work. i -- i ask my colleagues to support my amendment and oppose the tabling motion. mr. baucus: mr. president, i move to table the amendment and ask for yeas and nays. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? is there a sufficient second? there appears to be a sufficient second. the question is on the motion to table to suspend the rules -- the motion to suspend the rules. the yeas and nays have been ordered. the clerk will call the roll. vote: vote: the presiding officer: is there any senator who has not yet voted or wishs to change his or her vote? if not, on this vote, the yeas are 53, the nays are 46. the motion to table is agreed to. mr. reid: move to l

senator durbin has sai100. the illino delegation when they got a briefg recently wee told between 50-100. is is the category of people th... of the 200 or so in guantanamo nowsome will be depoed. five we know are gng to new york. those accused in the 9/1 attacks. some will be tri in other fedel courts. this remaing group, the ones at will need for the time being neher be tried nor port reasonable doubt the ones we're tking about. >> warner: i gather the e slated f military commisons. they'rgoing to hold those militaryommissions at the facility. >> rig. but that is a group th could be determined once they're there. the determinatns won't all necessarily be done. d the commissions will be held at thfacility. >> warne now, what about is flap that seems to have develoor seems to be there about this categy of isoners that the president once sd there would be some who would be unt-able because eith the evidence ainst them is tainted or would coromise intelligence methods. senatomcconnell is saying yocan't transfer th

durbin: mr. president, i have six unanimous consent requests for committees to meet during today's session of the senate. approved by the majority and minority leaders. and i ask unanimous consent these requests be agreed to and they be printed in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. coburn: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from oklahoma. mr. coburn: one of the questions and one of the promises was if you have what you -- what you have now and you like it, you can keep it. what's happening under this bill for 11 million seniors on medicare advantage is not going to happen. if they like it, they're not going to be able to keep what they have. you can't deny that. that's the truth. medicare advantage needs to be reformed. there is no question about it. i agree with it. and as the senator alluded to the patients' choice act, we actually save $160 billion into the patients choice act but we don't diminish any of the benefits. and we do that because c.m.s. failed

durbin: mr. president, there's a saying in iowa and in illinois that any old mule can kick down a barn door, but it takes a carpenter to build one. i would modify that slightly and say any old elephant can kick down a barn door, but it takes a carpenter to build one. we are debating health care reform. the american people are following this closely because it affects every single one of us in this room. everyone in the gallery and everyone watching. this is one of the few things we'll debate which you can bet will affect you and your family personally. it's rare that an issue comes before us at this gravity and an issue that reaches every single person in america. it may be the biggest single issue we have ever tackled on the floor of the united states senate. in terms of its scope and its impact on the future of every single one of us. so for more than a year a lot of people have been working hard to come up with a piece of legislation that will have a positive impact on health care in america.

senator dick durbin, 7 hours 53 minutes. host: linda in bethesda, maryland, you are opposed to the senate health care bill, why? caller: good morning. i apologize for my laryngitis. i feel that this bill will eventually kill of innovation in medical research in the united states once we go down this slippery slope. the government will pay for more and more. we already know that nih grants are down. doctors and people considering going to health care, the bright ones will not go in because all the market incentives will be gone very medical schools are very expensive and i see this as a slippery slope into a government run health care eventually because that is what legislation does once you get it done. host: what kind of health care do you have? caller: have healthcare with an employer. i am happy with it but under this bill, our health care will be very much tact. we will be paying extra tax. we already pay a lot of tax. host: it is a -- is a so-called cadillac plan? caller: no, but because of what is being put in their in

durbin: mr. president, i rise to speak as if in morning business. i would like to say at the outset that i respect very much my colleague from the state of kansas. he and i have worked on many things together. in fact, we have traveled together to africa, a memorable trip for us visiting the republic of congo and rwanda. i thank him for that. i know he is preparing for another public career in the state of kansas with the blessing of kansas voters. we do disagree on health care reform, aeupbd know that he's -- and i know that he's had a chance to explain his point of view. i will say that i disagree with many of his conclusions about what we are about, what we are trying to accomplish. this is the bill that is before us when we return to the health care reform debate. it is 2,074 pages long. itthe house of representatives spent a similar period of time to come up with their work product they passed a few weeks afplgt this is historic -- ago. this is historic because we have been promising this and threatening this for decades. it was theodore roosev

durbin: mr. president, let me first acknowledge the senator from connecticut, who played a critical role in the, not only the inspiration but the preparation of this important landmark legislation. senator dodd has been given so many tough assignments in his career. he's been handed some of the toughest, and this was one. his health, education, labor, and pensions committee met, i understand, for 54 hours if i'm not mistaken. i think that was said earlier on the floor -- considering hundreds of amendments to the notion that we could create a better, more effective health care system in america. i've yet to hear anyone criticize his chairing that committee. he was even handed and fair, entertained and accepted some 150 or 160 republican amendments to this bill in an effort to try to build some bipartisan support for it. he went the extra mile with extra hearings. his committee was weary at the end, but he proved that his experience here in the senate had taught him valuable lessons about what it t

durbin: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: mr. president, pending before us now is an omnibus bill which contains six different appropriation bills. it was not our intention to call this omnibus bill but to call each one of the appropriation bills. unfortunately, it's been impossible to reach that goal because of a strategy that has been employed by the republican side of the aisle to slow down any debate on any topic as much as possible, to challenge us with filibusters and force cloture votes and make the senate go into interminable quorum calls. so many times we've called bills that came out of the appropriations committee with overwhelmingly positive votes tom run into roadblocks on the floor, and then after weeks and weeks and weeks of procedural problems tossed our way by the republican side of the aisle, the bill finally called and it passes by an overwhelming margin. the stray give is clear and it's -- the strategy is clear and it's clear on the health care bill as it is on the appropriation bills, that the republican side

durbin: mr. president? the presiding officer: the assistant democratic leader. mr. durbin: mr. president, we are continuing to run time postcloture on the managers' amendment. following any leader remarks, the time until 12:30 p.m. are divided between the two leaders or designees. senator reid asked me to serve as his designee on the democratic side. at 12:30 p.m. we will alternate one-hour blocks of time until 6:30 p.m. with the majority controlling the first hour. if all 30 hours postcloture is required, then the roll call vote on the managers' amendment will occur about 7:15 a.m. tomorrow, tuesday, morning in the -- and the cloture vote on the substitute will occur immediately after that. so we expect two roll call votes early tuesday morning. hopefully votes will not be needed today to recess or adjourn this evening. and that is the state of play and business on the floor. mr. president, at this point i would ask to be recognized to speak pursuant to the unanimous consent request. let me withhold. i see that the majority leader's coming to the floor, and i want to give him

, senator durbin, the number two democrat in the leadership on the democrat side said i would say to the senator from arizona that i am in the dark almost as much as he is and i am in the leadership. even the leaders, the leaders on the other side. there are three people, four people sitting in a room writing this bill, and what's most -- the most offensive thing about this came out yesterday when we found out is that the senator from nebraska had carved out a special sweetheart deal with a goody for his state that all the rest of the states get to pay for. he gets his medicaid paid for entirely by the taxpayers, and no other state gets that particular arrangement. so the federal taxpayers in every other state -- my state of south dakota. i don't know. nebraska borders south dakota. i think the people in our part of the country are going to say this really smells. this is the way they are doing business in washington, d.c.? this is business as usual, mr. president. and the final thing i will say and that is that the argument was that it won't add a dime to the deficit. well, here i w

durbin: mr. president, i have six unanimous consent requests for committees to meet during today's session of the senate. approved by the majority and minority leaders. and i ask unanimous consent these requests be agreed to and they be printed in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. coburn: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from oklahoma. mr. coburn: one of the questions and one of the promises was if you have what you -- what you have now and you like it, you can keep it. what's happening under this bill for 11 million seniors on medicare advantage is not going to happen. if they like it, they're not going to be able to keep what they have. you can't deny that. that's the truth. medicare advantage needs to be reformed. there is no question about it. i agree with it. and as the senator alluded to the patients' choice act, we actually save $160 billion into the patients choice act but we don't diminish any of the benefits. and we do that because c.m.s. failed

. >> senator durbin and i have a colloquy on the floor this everybody recorded for posterity and can do it again over the holidays, but the fact is senator durbin said no one knows, only one person knows. that's what he said and he said it in all honesty and as to what the health care bill reform bill is going to be. yes. >> of the colloquy this morning, what was your reaction when you heard durbin see himself he had not speak to >> the number two ranking democrat said he didn't know what was in the bill so who should expect us to know? and fairness to senator durbin, and i want to be fair to him, he meant he didn't know all the provisions in the bill but he knew most of the provisions in the bill. i don't want to be too critical. but it seems to me that all senators should know at this late day after nearly a year of working on this legislation we should at least know what the latest proposal is. go ahead. >> senator dan end said this morning he thought what is on the floor right now is a decoy bill and what is going to come out in the manager's amendment that we propose leader coul

durbin: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: i ask consent the quorum call be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: i ask to speak on the time allotted to the chairman of the finance committee relative to his amendment. the presiding officer: the senator is recognized. mr. durbin: there's been a lot of talk on the floor about taxes and health care. what we're discussing is this bill. it's a large bill, over 2,000 pages, but we needed all of these pages because we're tackling one of the biggest problems facing america. how could we take a health care system that consumes one out of every six or seven dollars in our economy and change it for the better, keeping what's good in it but changing those things that aren't so good. one of the things that concerns most of us is the cost of health insurance premiums. ten years ago an average family of four paid $6,000 a year for health insurance. now that's up to $12,000. and if we're not careful, in eight years it's projected to double again. $24,000 a y

durbin: mr. president, i would -- senator reid contacted me earlier today and was unable to be here for the opening of the session, and i told him that i would be here to open, and i would just like to say briefly in response that the comments that have been made by the minority leader, senator mcconnell, continue to raise question about the future of medicare. i hope that senator mcconnell is sensitive to the fact that this last week on december 3, we voted 100-0 for the amendment offered by senator bennet of colorado, which said that nothing in the amendments to this act shall result in a reduction of guaranteed benefits under the social security act provisions related to medicare. and he went on to say that any savings would be used to extend the solvency of the medicare trust fund, reduce medicare premiums, and other cost sharing for beneficiaries, and approve or expand guaranteed medicare benefits and protect access to medicare providers. we voted 100-0 on a bipartisan fashion to make sure t

mr dorgan, aye, mr durbin, aye mr ensign, no mr enzee, no mr feingold, aye, mrs. feinstein, aye. mr franken, aye. mrs,geillearand, aye. mr graahm, no mr grassley, no. mrñgreg, no mrs, hagan, aye. mr harkin, aye. mr hatch, no. mrs. hutchison -- mr.inhosfe, no. mr noway, aye. mr isaacs said, nope. mr.johans, no. mr. johnson,aye. mr. kaufman,aye. mr. careyaye mr. kirk,aye. mr coles, aye mr. pyle,no. ms landreau, aye. mr lautenberg, aye. mr leahy, aye. mr levin ,aye. mr. lieberman,aye. mrs. lincoln,aye. mr. lugar,no. mr. mccabe,no. mrs. castle,aye. mr. mcconnell,no mr. menendez,aye. mr. merkley, aye. ms. mikulskiaye. mr merkowski, no. mrs. mary,aye. mr. nelson of nebraska,aye. mr. nelson of florida,aye. mr. pryor,aye. mr. reed of rhode island,aye. mr. reid of nevada, [laughter] mr. reid of nevada,aye. [laughter] mr rich, no. mr. roberts,no. mr. rockefeller,aye. mr. sanders, mr. schumer,aye. mr. sessions, mrs. shaheen, aye. mr. shelby, ms. snowe,no. mr. spector,aye. mr stabinow, aye. mr. tester,aye. mr thune, no. mr udall of colorado,aye. mr. udall of new mexico,aye. mr.vitter, no. m

i join with senator durbin. received letters from the community as well as other communities nearby. since this became known, more than 30 county boards, city councils, chambers of commerce have passed resolutions of support. local community is united in wanting to have this prison located at thomson, illinois. we look forward to working with the federal government to make sure this is done right. we always believe in helping our country. the most important thing we can do and the war against terrorism is work together, work behind our military to make sure our country is safe and sound and democracy is safe. >> i will have senator durbin speak out. for several years now, it is unclear that we need to close guantanamo. it was a decision made under the bush a administration, supported by robert gates, supported by general colin powell, general petraeus and president obama. part of the decision on closing guantanamo is to decide where to transfer the remaining detainees. we estimate they will be fewer than 100 alt

durbin: mr. president, i would -- senator reid contacted me earlier today and was unable to be here for the opening of the session, and i told him that i would be here to open, and i would just like to say briefly in response that the comments that have been made by the minority leader, senator mcconnell, continue to raise question about the future of medicare. i hope that senator mcconnell is sensitive to the fact that this last week on december 3, we voted 100-0 for the amendment offered by senator bennet of colorado, which said that nothing in the amendments to this act shall result in a reduction of guaranteed benefits under the social security act provisions related to medicare. and he went on to say that any savings would be used to extend the solvency of the medicare trust fund, reduce medicare premiums, and other cost sharing for beneficiaries, and approve or expand guaranteed medicare benefits and protect access to medicare providers. we voted 100-0 on a bipartisan fashion to make sure t

and you say, senator durbin, aren't you getting a little carried away here? die because you don't have health insurance? well, 45,000 people a year do. let me give you one illustration. what if you had a $5,000 co-pay on your health insurance and you didn't have $5,000? and the doctor says to you, i'm a little bit worried about some of the things you tell me and, senator, i think you need a colonoscopy. well, that's something that i can understand because my mother had colon cancer, so i'm very careful about this. i have a history in my family. but if you had a policy that said the first $5,000 you pay for and went out and asked how much does a colonoscopy cost, you'd find in many places it's $3,000. and there have been cases, a man from illinois wrote said i didn't have the $3,000 so i skipped the colonoscopy. without health insurance, without coverage, without enough money to pay for that basic test , this individual is running the risk of developing a serious cancer. that could claim his life at least cost a fortune to take care of. that's what inadequate

levin: i ask that a colloquy between myself and senator durbin be inserted in the record at this time. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection, so ordered. mr. levin: i ask unanimous consent that my statement be inserted in the record at this time as well. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. levin: i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: quorum call: the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. all time has expired. the question is on the conference report. is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. there is. the clerk will call the roll. vote: quorum call: vote:

durbin: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority whip. mr. durbin: mr. president, i rise in opposition to the hatch-nelson amendment. for 27 years it's been my honor to serve in the house and the senate. for 27 years the issue of abortion has been front and center, one of the most controversial and contentious issues that we have faced. the same is true when i return home to my congressional district in illinois and now with the state of illinois. there are many strong heartfelt positions on this issue that are in conflict, and members of the senate and house meet with the people who have varying address of intensity on this issue all the time. we are not going to resolve this issue today, not with this amendment, not with this bill. but we are going to do several things which i think are important. what we set out to do in health care reform was to honor the time-honored principles that we have now accepted. and they are these: abortion is a legal procedure since the supreme court case of roe vs. wade. since over 30 years now, we have said that no publi

of the story lines has to do with the statement from the senator coburn who was followed by senator durbin. we do have short pieces but what is the issue? >> senator coburn is a straight talk gain, the dazed and get the little emotional about this issue. he was on the floor this afternoon and it was sort of the acknowledging that republicans can do much now to stop the bill from passing out of the senate. >>host: we have mr. cockburn and mr. durban from earlier today. here is a look. >> it is not about being bipartisan but you can take-it-or-leave-it. the american parade that somebody can not make the vote tonight. so that we can actually get the metal, and i understand i am over here but we ought to get to the middle of america and the middle of the senate a bill that can run through this country and actually do what we say we want to to do. >> the one to renew my a invitation to the senator from oklahoma to please come to the floor soon before my time expires recalled his office to make sure he knew i was trying to reach him i spoke on the floor to alert the republicans had won him to ex

see a copy of it, and yesterday a little colloquy that we had with the senator from illinois, senator durbin, he said that he hadn't seen it. so i think -- i know that they have been briefed on it probably in a general way the night before, but it was explained to us that if anybody knew what was actually in that, that then the c.b.o. score that comes out on that, how much it will cost would have to be shared with everybody. i thought we were in the new era of transparency. that doesn't sound very transparent to me. even the democrats didn't get to see it, because if they did, then all of us could see how much it's going to cost. as soon as the congressional budget office has declared that. that bothers me. i think that it kind of bothers america. what we're worried about is that it's going to come to the floor all of a sudden, and we're going to have to make decisions on it. it evidently is being talked about a little bit on the other end of the building because i saw speaker pelosi stop short of endorsing the full senate compromise saying she needed to see something in writing, and there c

durbin: would the senator yield for a question? i'm going to be speaking at the end of this hour that's been allocated to our side, and tkwropbt interrupt the senator from -- and i don't want to interrupt the senator from ohio but for one reason. i don't know if ohio is aware of a -- i don't know in the senator from ohio is aware of a statement today by our colleague, senator coburn, who came to the floor and said what the american people ought to pray, that somebody can't make the vote tonight. that's what they ought to pray. i've been trying to reach senator coburn because he's on a committee that i serve on and i work with him. i'm troubled by this statement. i'm trying to reach him to come back to the floor and explain exactly what he said. about a senator being unable to make the vote tonight. i'm reaching out to senator coburn. i'll be on the floor in the next 45 minutes. i hope he will join me there. i thank the senator from ohio for yielding. mr. brown: thank you. i did not see that quote. i watched what happened two nights

i join with our united states senator, senator durbin. we received letters from the community of thompson as well as other communities nearby since this became known more than 30 county boards, city councils, chambers of commerce, have passed resolutions of support. local community is united in wanting to have this prison located at thompson, illinois. we look forward to working with the federal government to make sure this is done right for our country. we always believe in helping our country. the most important thing americans can do at this time in the war against terrorism is work together and work behind our military and make sure our country is safe and sound and democracy is safe. going to have senator durbin speak now >> for several years now it has been clear that we need to close guantanamo bay. it was a decision made turned bush administration, a decision supported by the secretary of defense robert gates and supported by general colin powell and general petraeus and president obama. the question is to decide where to transfer