I thank my colleagues, first from New York and Tennessee, for the good work they have done. My Gang of 8 colleagues--seven of the Gang of 8 colleagues who are my colleagues, we are working real hard to get a bill done and it is not easy…

I understand that both my colleagues from New Hampshire and Florida wish to speak. I will be happy to have each of them speak for 5 minutes and then me speak for 5 minutes, if that is OK. I ask unanimous consent: 5, 5, and 5. The PRESIDING…

I rise to discuss the report by the Congressional Budget Office that was just released. This is a long- awaited report, and we have all been waiting with bated breath to see what they would say. The report assesses the economic and fiscal…

I tend to have sympathy for the idea that, because people are not paying themselves... the market system does not work in health care.

I am a large defender of our great teaching hospitals in New York.

I do not agree with MedPAC on that issue, as you know.

It is only fair to provide them with the information necessary to do that. That is how markets can work.

I was for a public option. I was more sympathetic than I usually would be to a single-payer type system...

But the bottom line is, we need these unique institutions, because they treat patients that other places have tried and failed to treat, or cannot treat.

I have always thought free market models do not really work in health care very well.

We are talking a lot about ways to use benefit design, et cetera, to make markets more competitive.

I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. Amendment No. 1195 Under the previous order, the time until 10 a.m. is equally divided between the…

I rise to speak against the amendment offered by my friend and colleague, the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee. What does this amendment do? It is very simple. It says that the 11 million people living in the shadows cannot even…

I ask unanimous consent that the proponents be given 5 minutes and the opponents be given 5 minutes and then we vote. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

it is quite arguable that the entire trust fund is used up by those 6,500. That would mean no drones. That would mean no helicopters. That would mean none of the other things. It may mean no fencing that we add to the border. So my…

thank you, and I thank my colleague from Texas for his specifics there, and I know he is trying to make the bill a better bill. I have to say, as I understand it, this is the very same amendment that was defeated in committee. It was…

I thank my colleague for those questions, and they are all pretty obvious. No. 1, we have costed this out. CBO will judge whether we are correct. We have made the bill revenue neutral. In fact, we have a slight surplus. The huge cost of…

I thank my colleague, and I agree with the sentiments. I reiterate one final point. The Cornyn amendment, as proposed, asks for a 90-percent success rate in terms of effectiveness on the border, but it eliminates the turnback part of it…

I thank my colleague. Reclaiming the floor for a brief minute, I know my colleague from Utah has been offered time to speak on his proposal, so I don't want to take too much more time. I wish to say once again that we welcome suggestions…

I yield to the Senator from Arizona. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Arizona is recognized. Mr. McCAIN. The Senator from Ohio is working on E-Verify. I think he has come up with some very good ideas on how we can improve a vital…

I yield to my colleague. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Arizona is recognized. Mr. McCAIN. I hope the Senator from New York understands what the Chief of the Border Patrol said on this issue of 90 percent effectiveness. We are…

So I would urge that we go back to the drawing boards. If the Senator from Texas has a different proposal, obviously, I would look at it. This one is, unfortunately, one that we have tried, rejected, and will not lead to either…

I would just say this: No, 1, this amendment--we are only on the third day of the bill. I have said over and over that I welcome suggestions on how to improve the bill. No one says the bill by the Gang of 8 is exactly right. In fact, as…

I agree. That is the right count. There were four of us there, and we did just as the chairman said.

It is hard to refute the logic of my friend from Arizona. Mr. McCAIN. May I finish my question? Is it not true that we have said: Look, we welcome any suggestion to improve the bill. I would say respectfully to my friend from Texas it is…