Would you keep that as an optional basis on reauthorization?

Talk to me a little bit about the importance of outreach, and particularly rural outreach, since there are so many communities.

I hope it gives you a little more faith that we can get our act together and get this done in a timely way.

CHIP is vital to the health of our children and therefore our Nation and it works.

Our CHIP program back in the early 2000s was, frankly, a dreadful disaster.

It is a critically important program.

We went from one of the bottom of the barrel programs to where we signed up 98 percent of our eligible children.

I think it has probably been discussed at some length that if we go to a sanctions on any banking institution that does business with North Korea, you potentially go into a realm of mutually assured destructions.

I will want to appreciate all your testimony.

But let me get to a more fundamental question, and that is time versus resources.

I want you to be assured that your son's life, given on behalf of this Nation, was not given in vain.

Mr. President, I come to the floor today to speak on the issue that has consumed more of my time and energy during my time in the Senate than any other, and that is the state of our Nation's finances. As a member of the Budget Committee…

I fear this isn't a hearing about oversight.

Mr. Chairman, thank you very much, and thank you all for the testimonies. It's very interesting.

So it really disheartens me that the Science Committee is not investigating important scientific issues that have a real world impact on the health and safety of our citizens across the country.

Senator Kaine has proposed a long-term solution.

Reinsurance costs something, but it also brings down the Federal Government's obligation.

And so the backstop ends up having a double benefit.