Making Medicare an even less attractive model for nationalized health care is that the program is rife with fraud, waste, and abuse.

According to some estimates, the annual amount of fraudulent payments made by Medicare approaches $60 billion.

To me, that would tell me where to work, because if there is a correlation, you don't need to be spending your time in Minnesota or Iowa, where we know we have lower costs and better outcomes.

We are going to be allowed questions for the record?

I do not consider constitutional amendments lightly. Modifying the Nation's founding document should only be done in the most compelling circumstances.

I consider it a high honor to serve in this role, as matters within this Committee's jurisdiction... are among the Senate's most awesome responsibilities.

Thirty-six billion of it is wasted. The American taxpayer needs to know that.

I have heartburn over the $787 billion. I have heartburn over the $55.1 billion.

What we ought to be doing is redoubling our efforts to where we get that down to about 2 or 3 percent.

I am hearing that you plan to move USAspending.gov to Recovery.gov, which scares me to death based on what I see in Recovery.gov.

The 7 percent figure bothers me, but the 10 percent figure on the Federal Government bothers me even more.