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Obama's Speech to AARP; Sonia Sotomayor Gets One Step Closer to Supreme Court Confirmation; Push Is On to Reactiviate Cold Cases from Civil Rights Era; Grocery Store Employee Fired After Chasing Down Purse Snatcher

Aired July 28, 2009 - 14:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And I just had a doctor in the Oval Office today who told me it's not because they're healthier. It turns out they actually are generally older and they smoke at a higher rate. And so, in fact, their costs should be higher than ours.

And yet they are spending $6,000 per person less than we are. Now, that's money out of your pocket. If you're already retired, it's money that is out of your pocket because some of that money could have been going into your retirement fund instead of going to pay for your health care.

If you're working right now, some of that money could be going into your paycheck instead of going into your health benefits right now. It's money that is being given away, and we need to save it. That's why health reform is so important.

MODERATOR: We'd like to welcome you once again to the AARP national tele-town hall. Those of you on CNN can't dial star, three, but we welcome you. Those of you on the tele-town hall, however, if you have a question for the president of the United States on health care reform, star, three on your phone, and it won't take you off the broadcast.

Let's go next to Illinois and talk with Carolyn with her question.

Carolyn, you're on the tele-town hall.

QUESTION: Thank you. Hello, Mr. President from Joliet.

OBAMA: Good to -- tell everybody in Joliet I said hi.

QUESTION: I will. Thank you. I came from our (inaudible) chapter meeting this morning, and I asked for questions. There were two big fears that -- that came out of the discussion. One had to do with the fear of losing a preferred insurance plan, which I think you've addressed to some extent this morning.

OBAMA: Right.

QUESTION: The other has to do with the knowledge that there will be billions of dollars of cuts in Medicare over the years to accommodate baby boomers. So the question is: Does this translate into dictation of what can and cannot be given to a senior in service? For example, will there be fewer hip and knee replacements? Even if I decide when I'm 80 that I want a hip replacement, am I going to be able to get that? Am I going to be able to see a cardiologist or -- if I have a heart condition or other specialist? Or is that going to all be primary care?

OBAMA: Well, I think...

QUESTION: I'm calling it rationing of care. I'm coining it that.

OBAMA: Yes, no, I think it's an excellent question, Carolyn. And I appreciate it, because I do think this is a concern that people have generally.

My interest is not in getting between you and your doctor, although, keep in mind, right now, insurance companies are often getting between you and your doctor. So it's not as if these choices aren't already being made. It is just they're being made by private insurance companies without any real guidance as to whether the decisions that are being made are good decisions to make people healthier or not.

So what we've said is, we just want to provide some guidelines to Medicare and, by extension, the private sector about what works and what doesn't.

Some of you may have heard we wanted to set up what we're calling an IMAC, an independent medical advisory committee, that would on an annual basis provide recommendations about what treatments work best and what gives you the best value for your health care dollar.

OBAMA: And this is modeled on something called MedPAC, which, by the way, Jennie, who's sitting right next to me, is currently on and gives terrific recommendations every year about how we could improve care to reduce the number of tests or to make sure that we're getting more generic drugs in the system if those work and are cheaper, all kinds of recommendations like that. Unfortunately, right now they're just sitting on a shelf.

So we don't want to ration by dictating to somebody, "OK, you know what? We don't think that this -- this senior should get a hip replacement."

What we do want to be able to do is to provide information to that senior and to her doctor about, you know, this is the thing that is going to be most helpful to you in dealing with your condition.

So let's say that person is diabetic. It turns out that if hospitals and doctors are providing reimbursements for a nurse practitioner or a social worker to work with that diabetic to control their diets and their medications, then they may avoid having to get a foot amputation. That's a good outcome.

And, by the way, that will save money. That saves Medicare money. And if we save money on Medicare, that means that it's going to be more stable and more solvent over the long term.

So the thing that I'm -- if I were -- look, I think I'm scheduled to get my AARP card in a couple years, is that right?

(LAUGHTER)

RAND: Any time you want one.

OBAMA: But...

RAND: Platinum.

OBAMA: ... I know I'm automatically getting, you know...

HANSEN: Associate member.

OBAMA: ... associate member, right? OK.

(LAUGHTER)

So -- so if I was thinking about Medicare and making sure that I was secure, the thing that I would be most worried about right now is health care inflation keeps on going up, and the trust fund in 10 years is suddenly in the red, and now Congress has to make some decisions.

Are they going to put more money into Medicare, especially given the deficits and the debt that we already have? Or are they at that point going to start making decisions about cutting benefits, but not based on any science or what's making people healthier? They're just going to start making it based on politics.

And what we're saying is, we can avoid that scenario by starting to make some good decisions now about, how do we improve care, make the system more rational, make it work better? That will actually stabilize and save Medicare over the long term.

One last point, because I think Carolyn also raised the issue of we're taking some money out of Medicare. The only things that we're talking about have nothing to do with benefits.

It has to do with things like subsidizing insurance companies or, for example, right now we -- we reimburse hospitals for the amount of time that you're there without checking to see if they're doing a good job in the first place, so they have no penalty -- if you go into the hospital, they're supposed to fix you. Suddenly, you have to go back three weeks later. That hospital gets paid all over again, even though they didn't get it right the first time.

Now, if you got your car fixed at a mechanic and, three weeks later, you had to go back and you had to pay again to get your car fixed all over again, you'd be pretty mad, wouldn't you? And yet, when it comes to health care, that happens all the time. That happens all the time, and the hospital gets reimbursed for the second time or the third time, even though they didn't get it right the first time. And so what we're saying is, let's incentivize the hospitals. We'll pay you a little bonus if the person is not readmitted because you got it right the first time. That will save money over the long term. Those are the kinds of changes we're talking about.

MODERATOR: We have been very geographically inspecific in our conversation so far, so let's get geographically specific by going to Janine in our audience. She's from Fairmont, Nebraska, and has a very relevant question.

Janine, welcome to the tele-town hall.

QUESTION: Hi, Mr. President.

OBAMA: Hi, Janine.

QUESTION: I'm concerned about affordability and pre-existing conditions, and I'm glad to hear you say what you have. My family and I live in rural Nebraska, and my husband and I are both -- are self- employed. And we're paying -- and he was originally denied because of a pre-existing condition, and he's in a CHIP's pool.

OBAMA: Right.

QUESTION: We're paying $900 a month, and we have an $8,000 deductible.

OBAMA: Yes, that's tough.

QUESTION: Yes. And it's -- you know, and we've done this for about a year-and-a-half...

OBAMA: Right.

QUESTION: ... and we're not alone. There are a lot of people that do this.

OBAMA: Well, Janine, you are a prime candidate for the health care exchange that I just described, because essentially what you would be able to do is you could just go online, you would be able to see a list of participating insurers -- which, by the way, is very important, because in most states right now, insurance companies are dominated by -- or the insurance market is dominated by just one or two insurers, so you don't have a lot of choices.

And this way, you would have a lot of choices. They would all have to compete on the basis of price, but they'd be abiding by a certain set of rules, like you can't exclude somebody for a pre- existing condition.

And so you could then select the plan that was best for you, do your own comparison shopping, and if you qualified, then we would provide you a little bit of help on your premiums to reduce your costs. So, you know, that's what essentially we could pay for if we take some of these inefficiencies and the waste out of the system right now. That will pay for you getting the kind of help you need, and we'd have insurance regulations in place that would protect you from being scammed in the insurance market, which unfortunately a lot of people suffer from.

The other reason that we can drive your costs down is you'd be part of a huge pool, right? Part of the reason why large companies are typically able to offer lower insurance premiums for their employees than small companies is they've got a big pool.

The federal government is a classic example. The federal health employees program is a pretty good deal because you've got several million people who are part of it. So that gives you a lot of bargaining power with the insurers. Well, the exchange will provide that same market power to help negotiate with the insurers to drive prices down.

And the other thing that we do want to do -- now, this is controversial, and I understand some people are worried about this -- we do think that it makes sense to have a public option alongside the private option, so you could still choose a private insurer, but we'd also have a public plan that you could choose from that would be not for profit, wouldn't have, hopefully, some of the same high administrative costs, and would be potentially more responsive to your needs at a lower cost.

I think that helps keep the insurance companies honest, because now they have somebody to compete with. And I have to say, the reason this has been controversial is, you know, a lot of people have heard this phrase "socialized medicine" and they say, "We don't want government-run health care. We don't want a Canadian-style plan."

Nobody is talking about that. We're saying: Let's give you a choice. You can choose the private marketplace or this other approach.

And, you know, I got a letter the other day from a woman. She said, "I don't want government-run health care. I don't want socialized medicine. And don't touch my Medicare."

(LAUGHTER)

And, you know -- you know, I wanted to say, well, you know, I mean, this -- that's what Medicare is, is it's a government-run health care plan that people are very happy with. But -- but I think that we've been so accustomed to hearing those phrases that sometimes we can't sort out the myth from the reality.

MODERATOR: In our tele-town hall, we go next to Lawrence, Kansas, and talk with Mitzi.

Mitzi, you're on the tele-town hall.

QUESTION: Mr. President, thank you so much for doing the hard work of health care reform.

OBAMA: Thank you, Mitzi. QUESTION: My question is, historically, older Americans, along with women of child-bearing age and persons with pre-existing conditions, have paid more for health care coverage. And I want to know if reform will eliminate the disparity for older Americans.

OBAMA: Well, the -- one thing that we strongly believe in is, you can't discriminate in the insurance market. And that's actually what's happening right now. You're not seeing it in Medicare if you're already in Medicare, but if you're in the private marketplace right now, essentially insurance companies are cherry-picking. They want young, healthy people, because they can collect premiums and don't have to pay out a lot.

And then, as people get older, then they start suddenly making it harder for those folks to get coverage. And if they do get coverage, it's wildly expensive.

And so part of the insurance reforms we want to institute is to make sure that there's what's called a community rating principle that keeps every insurer operating fairly so that they can't just select the healthy, young people. If they want to participate in, for example, this health care exchange, they've got to take everybody.

OBAMA: And that will help, I think, reduce costs or level out costs for older Americans. And we also want to enshrine a principle in there that says no discrimination against women, because there is still often times a gender bias in terms of some of the -- some of the coverage that people receive.

MODERATOR: We go next to North Carolina for a question we had all week last week. I think every -- every town hall had this one. It's from Colin.

And, Colin, go ahead and ask this question. Go ahead, Colin.

QUESTION: This is his wife, Mary.

OBAMA: Hi, Mary. What happened to Colin?

(LAUGHTER)

QUESTION: Well, I'm the one they talk to.

OBAMA: I got you. That's how it is in my house, too.

(LAUGHTER)

QUESTION: I have heard lots of rumors going around about this new plan, and I hope that the people that are going to vote on this is going to read every single page there. I have been told there is a clause in there that everyone that's Medicare age will be visited and told to decide how they wish to die. This bothers me greatly, and I'd like for you to promise me that this is not in this bill.

OBAMA: You know, the -- I guarantee you, first of all, we just don't have enough government workers to send to talk to everybody to find out how they -- they want to die.

I think that the only thing that may have been proposed in some of the bills -- and I actually think this is a good thing -- is that it makes it easier for people to fill out a living will.

Now, Mary, you may be familiar with the principle behind a living will, but it basically is something that my grandmother, who you may have heard recently passed away, it gave her some control ahead of time so that she could say, for example, if she had a terminal illness, did she want extraordinary measures even if, for example, her brainwaves were no longer functioning? Or did she want just to be left alone?

You know, that gives her some decision-making power over the process. The problem is, right now, most of us don't give direction to our family members and so, when we get really badly sick, sadly enough, nobody is there to make the decisions and then the doctor, who doesn't know what you might have preferred, they're making decisions in consultation with your kids or your grandkids and nobody knows what you would have preferred.

So I think the idea there is to simply make sure that a living will process is easier for people. It doesn't require you to hire a lawyer or -- or to take up a lot of time, but everything is going to be up to you.

And if you don't want to fill out a living will, you don't have to, but it's actually a useful tool, I think, for a lot of families to make sure that, you know, if, you know -- you know, Heaven forbid, you contract a terminal illness, that you or somebody who's able to control this process in a dignified way that, you know, is true to your faith and true to how you think, you know, that end-of-life process should proceed?

You don't want somebody else making those decisions for you. So I actually think it's a good idea to have a living will. I'd encourage everybody to get one. I have one; Michelle has one. And we hope we don't have to use it for a long time, but -- but I think it's something that is sensible.

But, Mary, I just want to be clear: Nobody is going to be knocking on your door. Nobody is going to be telling you, you've got to fill one out. And certainly nobody is going to be forcing you to make a set of decisions on end-of-life care based on, you know, some bureaucratic law in Washington.

MODERATOR: Mr. President, she mentioned -- not in her question, but in her preview -- that she's talking about Section 1232, the infamous page 425, which is being read as mandatory end-of-life care advice and counseling for Medicare.

As I read the bill, it's saying that Medicare will, for the first time, cover consultation about end-of-life care and that they will not pay for such a consultation more than once every five years. This is being read as saying, every five years, you'll be told how you can die. OBAMA: Well, that would be kind of morbid. I think -- I think that, you know, the idea in that provision, which may be in the House bill -- keep in mind that, you know, we're still having a whole series of negotiations. And if this is something that really bothers people, I suspect that members of Congress might take a second look at it.

OBAMA: But understand what the intent is. The intent here is to simply make sure that you've got more information and that Medicare will pay for it.

So, for example, there are some people who -- they get a terminal illness and they decide at a certain point they want to get hospice care, but they might not know how to go about talking to a hospice. What does it mean? You know, how does it work?

And they don't -- we don't want them to have to pay for that out of pocket. So if Medicare is saying you have the option of consulting with somebody about hospice care and we will reimburse it, that's putting more power and more choice in the hands of the American people. And it strikes me that that's a sensible thing to do.

MODERATOR: We go to Denver, Colorado, next.

And, Sarah, another donut hole question. Go ahead, Sarah.

QUESTION: Hi. This is my first year in the donut hole, and it's quite a frightening thing to go through. I have Parkinson's, so I -- I will be going through it year after year. And it looks like I could last about two years, and then all of my savings will be gone to the donut hole. So what do you intend to replace the donut hole with?

OBAMA: Well, we want to replace it with prescription drugs that won't force you to use up all your retirement. When the original Medicare Part D was put forward, first of all, it wasn't paid for, so it automatically was unstable financially.

Then, there was an agreement that you couldn't negotiate with the drug companies for the cheapest available price on drugs. The American people pay about 77 percent more for drugs than any other country, 77 percent, almost twice as much as other countries do.

So what we've said is, as part of reform, let's negotiate with the pharmaceutical companies. We'll cover more people. That means potentially the pharmaceuticals will have more coverage -- or more customers. But as part of the deal, they've got to start providing much better discounts on their drugs.

They've already committed that, if health care reform is passed, they would provide $80 billion worth of discounts. That would be enough to cover about half of the donut hole.

So right off the bat, right now, without further negotiations, the drug companies have already committed that they would reduce -- they would cut in half the costs that folks have to go through when they're in the donut hole right now. That's money directly in their pocket that could be in their retirement savings. I think we can get potentially an even better deal than that because we're overpaying 77 percent. But the problem is, if we don't get health care reform, the pharmaceutical industry is going to fight for every dime of profits that they're currently making, and filling that donut hole is going to be very expensive, because when the Medicare Part D was originally passed, nobody put in provisions to pay for it.

And so putting even more money into it at a time when Medicare may go bankrupt -- not go bankrupt, but go into the red -- 10 years from now, that's a big problem. That's part of the reason why reform is so important. And I think, for AARP members especially, there are hundreds of thousands of people out there who would directly benefit from reduced prescription drug costs if we're able to pass this bill.

MODERATOR: As you know, you may have heard, cost of the program is a concern.

OBAMA: Yes.

MODERATOR: Jane here in our audience has a question about that from Alexandria, Virginia.

Jane?

CALLER: Hello, Mr. President. My question is some concern we have about the possibility of a cost containment commission, if you could comment on that.

OBAMA: You know, the idea is not the -- it's not a cost containment commission that's been proposed. It has been what I've just described, an independent medical advisory committee modeled on the kind of committee that is called MedPAC right now. It's got people who are health care experts, nurses, doctors, hospital administrators.

The idea is, is how do you get the most value for your health care dollar? Now, the objective is to control costs, but it's not cost containment by just denying people care that they need. Instead, it's reducing costs by changing the incentives and the delivery system in health care so that people are not paying for care that they don't need.

The more we can reduce those unnecessary costs in health care, the more money we have to provide people with the necessary costs, the things that really pay, you know, high dividends in terms of people becoming healthier.

And this is pretty straightforward. I mean, it's pretty logical. If you think about your own family budget, if you could figure out a way to reduce your heating bill by insulating your windows, then that money that you saved -- you're still warm inside. You're just as comfortable as you were.

It's just you're not wasting all that energy and sending it in the form of higher bills to the electric company or the gas company. And that's been money that you can use to save for your retirement or help your kid go to college.

Well, it's the same principle within the health care system. If we can do the equivalent of insulating some windows and making the house more efficient, you're still going to be warm, you're just going to be able to save some money. In this case, you're still going to be healthy. You will just have saved some money, and that money then we can use to lower your prescription drug costs, for example.

MODERATOR: We have an Internet question next from Alpharetta, Georgia. Robert asks, "If the new health care reform bill is so great for all Americans, why are members of Congress and other arms of government excluded from having to participate?"

OBAMA: Well, I actually -- I actually think that the health care exchange that people like Janine would be able to participate in would be very similar to -- to the kind of program that we have for the federal health care employees.

But keep in mind -- I mean, this is something that I can't emphasize enough -- you don't have to participate. If you are happy with the health care that you've got, then keep it. If you like your doctor, keep it. Nobody is going to go out there and say, "You've got to change your health care plan."

So this is not like Canada, where suddenly we are dismantling the system and everybody is signed up under some government program. All we're doing is we're saying, if you've already got health care, the only thing we're going to do for you is we're going to reform the insurance companies so that they can't cheat you, and we are -- if you don't have health insurance, we're going to make it a little bit easier for you to be able to obtain health care.

And, hopefully, overall, we are going to change the delivery systems so that we are saving money as a society over the long term.

So nobody is being forced to go into the system. And, frankly, the -- if we do this right, then all we're actually doing is giving the American people the same option that members of Congress have, because they've got a pretty good deal right now.

I mean, fact of the matter is, is that they don't have to worry about losing their health insurance. They have a bunch of options and different plans to select from. So if they've got a good deal, why shouldn't you?

(APPLAUSE)

MODERATOR: We hope that you've found this tele-town hall with President Obama, AARP CEO A. Barry Rand, and AARP President Jennie Chin Hansen to be informative, interesting, helpful, and stimulating of further discussion.

If you have a personal story you'd like to share with us about the impact of high costs of health care has had on your family, please stay on the line to leave us a message. Be sure to leave your contact information so we can get back to you. Now, for some closing remarks, let's go back to Barry Rand.

Barry?

RAND: Well, I want to thank you again, Mr. President, for joining us...

OBAMA: Thank you.

RAND: ... listening to our members, whether they're here in person or on the phone or on the Web, and for hearing their stories, and getting a chance to talk directly and answer the questions. So we thank you very much for that.

OBAMA: Thank you. Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

RAND: (OFF-MIKE)

OBAMA: Well, I just want to say thank you to all of you for taking the time to get informed on this issue. And I want to thank AARP for all the good that it has done to provide greater security and stability in the lives of people who are older.

You know, this week celebrates the anniversary of Medicare. And when you look at the Medicare debate, it is almost exactly the same as the debate we're having right now. Everybody who was in favor of the status quo was trying to scare the American people, saying somehow that the government is going to take over your health care, you won't be able to choose your own doctor, they're going to ration care, they're going to tell you, you can't get this or that or the other.

And you know what? Medicare has been extraordinary popular. It has worked. It has made people a lot healthier, given them security. And we can do the same this time.

Sometimes I get a little frustrated, because this is one of those situations where it's so obvious that the system we have isn't working well for too many people and that we could just be doing better.

We're not going to have a perfect health care system. It's a complicated system. There are always going to be some problems out there. But we could be doing a lot better than we're doing right now.

We shouldn't be paying 50 percent more, 75 percent more than other countries that are just as healthy as we are. We shouldn't have prescription drugs 77 percent higher in cost than ours. And we shouldn't have people who are working really hard every day without health care or with $8,000 deductibles, which means they basically don't have health care insurance unless they get in an accident or they get really sick. That just doesn't make sense.

And the stories I get are heartbreaking all across the country from people who are just having a really tough time, and it's going to get tougher. So we've got to have the courage to be willing to change things. I know that sometimes people have lost confidence in the country's ability to bring about changes, but I think this is one of those times where we've really got to step up to the plate. And it will ultimately make Medicare stronger, as well as the whole health care system stronger.

So thank you very much, everybody.

(APPLAUSE)

Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One of the most difficult parts of working on an effort like health care reform is to keep in touch and keep up to date. May we suggest a Web site, healthactionnow.org. It will tell you how to get in touch with your Congressman and the people who are debating this whole issue. And they'll tell you how to keep involved until the very end, which we hope is soon.

PHILLIPS: There you go. You can continue to stay involved. President Obama making his case again, overhauling health care in America. We, of course, want to get the opposing view now as we've watched the president for about an hour.

Joining me live from Capitol Hill, Republican representative Eric Cantor of Virginia, the House minority whip. Congressman, you heard some of the president's Q & A there, and I read a recent piece that you wrote in the paper talking specifically about seniors. Did he sell you on reform when talking about that in particular and focusing a lot on Medicare?

REP. ERIC CANTOR (R-VA), MINORITY WHIP: Kyra, I heard what the president was saying. And frankly, he hasn't said a lot different today than what he said at last week's press conference.

The fact is, most Americans are very concerned about what they are learning of the Obama health care reform bill. I don't think the people of this country feel it is appropriate for us to hear the president say, you know, "It's my way or the highway." There are plenty of other approaches. I think we can gain a comfort level if we take the time to get it right and not say that we must have, full-on, this government takeover of our health care system.

PHILLIPS: But he, time and time again, throughout that Q&A said in no way, shape, or form and was very firm about this, said we are going to make you do one thing or another. It is not going to be like Canada, he said, where your only option is to take what the government is giving you. He said this is strictly about reforming the insurance company and making it more competitive so you, the consumer, don't get gouged.

CANTOR: But the way to do that is not to impose some type of government substitute for insurers. Right now, people are upset. If they lose their job, they are going to lose their health care. We have to make sure that we put forward a plan that allows folks to maintain that protection if they lose their job. Let me tell you this. I just met with a group of small business people from around the country. Frankly, their reality is not at all what the president is describing. That's, I think, where the disconnect is and why so many people in this country, in fact, the majority of Americans feel very concerned about this plan he's pushing.

What the small business owners told me was that this is a plan that will penalize them as job creators. We heard plenty of stories about small businesses downsizing, about the realities of what a payroll tax of 8 percent would mean and about what a surtax on small businesses would mean. It would mean there is no way they could maintain the jobs they have, and in many cases, they would say, "Look, I can't afford it all. I would have to go in and allow or really force my employees on to a government plan." That's the reality of what the president is talking about.

PHILLIPS: Well, two things that I want to point out there. Talking just about not being able to afford it. I mean, premiums keep going up faster than wages. By the way, you have deductibles on the rise as well. Health care costs are definitely a big drag on the economy. Something has got to happen to offer more competition to get those costs down. In particular, when you talk about loss of jobs and small businesses, and I mean they are struggling tremendously as we know in this economy right now.

CANTOR: Kyra, listen. You are absolutely right. We need more competition. We need to drive down costs, but I don't think anybody in America believes that Washington is the agent to bring down costs. What we've got to do is listen to what the job creators, the small business people, are saying. What they are saying is, "Allow me the flexibility to provide the coverage for my employees. Allow me to make sure my employees have what they need."

It is really just a false choice that the president is saying. He is basically saying, it is a government plan or nothing. That is really not where this country is.

PHILLIPS: That's not what he is saying. They are laying it out, saying, it could be cooperative, state-supported gateways or a federal-supported public option plan. He is not saying it is absolutely one way or another.

CANTOR: Kyra, what we heard from small businesses, there is no way that you can see an instance where the government can fairly compete with the private sector. I think that's intuitive.

PHILLIPS: Well, the private sector has a lot of money, right?

CANTOR: Listen, we need to make sure that the costs are brought down. I don't think anybody argues that point. Nobody is accepting the status quo. The reality of what President Obama is proposing is putting the government in competition with those in the private sector. Employers, one after the other, have said, if you do that, there will be no other option then for us to shed our health care and allow all of our employees to go into the government plan. When you look at it, those who have health care in this country, an overwhelming number of Americans like what they have. They just say it is too expensive. Let's focus on bringing down those costs. That's really where we have got to focus here if we are going to get something done. It is not this question of, you've got to accept this or else. That's really where I think the difficulty is and why there is a bipartisan majority in Congress against the Obama health care bill.

PHILLIPS: And if you want to read more, you can go to the "Richmond Times Dispatch" and read Eric Cantor's column there. He was a guest columnist. It was published on the twelfth. "Health Care Shakeup Will Make Things Worse."

Thanks for adding a perspective to the president's comments today. Appreciate it, Congressman.

CANTOR: Kyra, thank you.

PHILLIPS: Tomorrow, the president travels to Raleigh, North Carolina, then to Bristol, Virginia. North Carolina is home to so- called moderate Democrats. Both sides are targeted into the health care debate. It is home to pharmaceutical giant, GlaxoSmithKline. In Bristol, right on the Tennessee line, the president speaks to union supermarket workers who share his vision for reform and who, by the way, gave almost 2 million bucks to Democratic House and Senate candidates in 2008.

A split decision for Sonia Sotomayor. The Senate panel passes judgment on a would-be Supreme Court justice. More from the CNN NEWSROOM straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: A drywall contractor by day and an alleged terrorist in secret, Daniel Patrick Boyd under arrest in North Carolina, charged with plotting terror attacks overseas.

Boyd, his two sons, and four other men taken into custody near Raleigh. Boyd allegedly trained them to take out a violent jihad or holy war. The law is hunting for an eighth suspect now. The family had to say this about the arrest.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KHALILAH SABRA, MUSLIM AMERICAN SOCIEITY: It's shocking and it's sad. Anytime someone from the Muslim community is indicted on charges, of course, it affects all of us as a whole. We know that Islam is always under the microscope, and these type of situations causes the religion to be misinterpreted.

I feel sorry that her sons have been indicted. They're young, they have the rest of their lives they're going to have to deal with. I don't know if they will ever be able to escape this. We are sad and disappointed that this situation has occurred.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Boyd allegedly got training at terrorist camps in Pakistan and fought Soviet troops as they left Afghanistan in the late 80s.

Thirteen yes and six no, and Sonia Sotomayor is one step closer to a lifetime seat on the highest court in the land. As you may have seen live here on CNN, the Senate Judiciary Panel cast an almost party-line vote to recommend Sotomayor's confirmation to the full Senate.

CNN's Brianna Keilar was watching. And now she's pushing forward to next week. Brianna?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Sotomayor, as you said, it was almost a total party-line vote. Only one member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Republican Lindsey Graham, voting in favor of moving Sotomayor's nomination to the full Senate floor. He said she would not have been his pick, definitely, but elections have consequences, and President Obama won the election, so he gets to pick who he wants on the Supreme Court. Now, he also highlighted just how historic this nomination is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC), SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: We're 200 and something years old as a nation. This is the first Latino woman in the history of the United States to be selected for the Supreme Court. Now, that is a big deal. I would not have chosen her, but I understand why President Obama did. I gladly give her my vote, because I think she meets the qualification tests that were used in Scalia and Ginsburg.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: The main Republicans said they can't be sure that she won't use her personal opinion when she's issuing her decisions from the bench. Obviously, there is a fear when she is on the highest court and there are these ambiguous cases, that her opinions will come down on the side of, basically, the liberal side of issues. So, a very divided Senate judiciary committee.

It was interesting to note that Senator Grassley and Senator Hatch, respectively from Iowa and Utah, this was the first time that they voted against a Supreme Court nominee. The next step here is moving this to the full Senate. We are expecting a vote by the full Senate next week. Certainly, we are expecting that Sonia Sotomayor will be confirmed when that vote is held.

PHILLIPS: There is a lot of pressure from these outside groups on Republicans and Democrats, creating a lot of division.

KEILAR: That is certainly one of the aspects when you wonder why this is such a divided committee. When you look at some of these outside groups that have a real stake in what comes out of the Supreme Court -- for instance, the National Rifle Association and gun rights or groups that are pro-life. They basically issue edicts, if you will. You can see this one from the NRA sent to leaders of the Senate saying, "We oppose this nomination. We think if you vote for Sonia Sotomayor, you are voting against our perspective, against our view."

That's what the NRA did in that letter there. So these groups here, they actually do score cards of these members of Congress. At the end of the year, they take a look and see where they all fell in line on certain issues, the NRA will consider a vote for Sotomayor a vote against gun rights, and they basically will penalize some of these members, especially Republicans whose conservative base really cares about gun rights, for instance, as well as a number of other issues that work the same way.

PHILLIPS: Brianna Keilar, thanks.

Is time running out to solve some of America's most horrific murder cases? The push is on this week to reactivate cold cases from America's civil rights era. Right now, why two of the men leading that push say there is no time to lose.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Hundreds of murder cases still unsolved. Justice that can't wait forever. If civil rights activists get their way in Washington, their bill will heat up cold cases from the Civil Rights era. Cold cases like this one portrayed in the movie "Mississippi Burning."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is it a cop? I can't see. What are these jokers playing at (ph)?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, they ain't playing, you better believe it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Civil rights workers James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner were murdered by a mob in Mississippi in 1964. One man has been convicted in that crime. My next guest is pushing to find and bring the other men to justice.

Alvin Sykes just met with Attorney General Eric Holder. He is putting pressure on him to fund the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Act. Emmett Till was the black teenager killed in 1955 for allegedly whistling at a white woman. His case helped spark the civil rights movement. Till's cousin, Wheeler Parker, is also pushing for justice before witnesses die and evidence disappears.

Parker joins me live from Chicago. Great to have you both. Alvin, let's start with you. What did you tell Eric Holder and how did he respond?

ALVIN SYKES, EMMETT TILL JUSTICE COMMITTEE: I told him that we were in the last years of any possible prosecution of any perpetrators of unsolved civil rights era murders, and that we need to move on it now. He certainly agreed with it. He was very supportive of our position for community reforms and searching for witnesses throughout the migration route from the South to the North. We certainly feel we have a friend in the attorney general.

PHILLIPS: Well, Alvin, what's he going to do? Because this act was signed into law nine months ago, but there was no funding -- no funding was ever given toward that last year. So, as you said, these folks are going unpunished, again and again. It's now been decades, and you are losing valuable time.

SYKES: Yes. We are losing some time. We want people to understand that we understand that there is a two-part process to passing legislation. The first part was the authorization. That's what was signed last year. Now is the appropriation. We feel very comfortable that Congress is going to put the appropriate amount of money into the 2010 appropriations for the Justice Department, in particular for these unsolved cases.

PHILLIPS: Got it. Wheeler, we can't forget these pictures. Your cousin, Emmett Till, his remains were pulled from his grave. As a matter of fact, we covered it here live on CNN. The problem was, when his remains were pulled from the grave site, it just wasn't enough to crack the case and hold people that are still alive accountable for his death. Are you concerned that lawmakers may be holding back on funding because many of them feel it is just too late to solve a number of these cases?

PARKER: I think some probably feel that way. But I am appreciative of those who are not feeling that way. You see so many cold cases on TV now. We encourage, and our nation can only be helped, if we pursue those things. So we have liberty and justice for all.

PHILLIPS: Do you think that justice can still be found in your cousin's case, in Emmett Till's case? I know Carolyn Bryant is still alive, the white woman that he allegedly whistled at that triggered his death, his brutal death, I might add.

PARKER: I think we can still find something. It is medicinal, not only for the perpetrators but for the country as a whole.

PHILLIPS: So, Alvin, what's next? I mean, you can even look at the murders of James Chaney and Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner. You know, what can still be done on that case. I mean, I know that Billy Wayne Posey is still alive.

SYKES: Yes. Billy Wayne Posey is our prime suspect target, so to speak, in this case.

For people who didn't know, back in 2005, when the grand jury considered Mr. Posey along with the others, Mr. Posey escaped indictment by one vote. He needed 12. He got 11. His relative was on the grand jury and didn't vote for his indictment.

So, we believe that state proceeding had zero credibility as it relates to Mr. Posey and we want the federal government and the state to come together and work to bring that case back to the state grand jury so we can get some resemblance of justice with Mr. Posey and anybody else that the evidence supports the indictment on.

PHILLIPS: Well, it sounds like this is all moving in a positive direction. You have...

SYKES: Absolutely.

PHILLIPS: ... the support of Eric Holder.

Wheeler, maybe I can wrap up with you. Because the Emmett Till case is something that we've been following for a number of years here on our program, on my program here.

You know, if this finally does flourish, this bill, and the funding is put through and you're able to go after a lot of these cases and finally bring justice on so many levels, what will that do for you, the remaining members of your family, decades later?

PARKER: Well, we need closure. When something like this happens to you, there are always a lot of unanswered questions. For over 50 years, there are some things we need to know and we just need some closure. Does something for you when you can find out what happened and how it happened and something is done about it.

PHILLIPS: Well, today, we definitely remember the life of Emmett Till and what he did. And it triggered that civil rights movement, even pushed Rosa Parks to be strong and sit in the front of that bus.

And Alvin Sykes, Wheeler Parks, appreciate your time today. We'll definitely follow up on this bill and the funding, as well.

PARKS: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: All right. We're going to take a quick break. More from the CNN NEWSROOM straight ahead.

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PHILLIPS: Well, nothing irks me more than a hero who gets thrown under the bus. Troy Schafer is a former Military man, turned produce manager at Randalls (ph) in Round Rock, Texas. Like every well- trained trooper, not to mention well brought up gentleman, Schafer responded to a woman's cry for help. You would think that his manager would give him a raise, throw him a party, have a hero's parade for God's sake. But, nope. Troy Schaeffer gets canned. Does it seem right for you?

The story now from KXAN's Matt Fleaner.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TROY SCHAFER, FIRED EMPLOYEE: I just dove in the bushes and went. MATT FLEANER, KXAN REPORTER (voice-over): Pure adrenaline brought this produce manager and Army veteran to this field in search of a suspect last Tuesday.

SCHAFER: I did what I thought was right, you know? I hadn't done that in a long time. I'm a big guy, you know?

FLEANER: Troy Schaeffer said he reacted in a split second to the cries of Ann Welsh (ph) after a 15-year-old stole her purse inside this Randall's grocery store.

ANN WELCH, CRIME VICTIM: I started running after him and I yelled, he stole my purse! Help! Somebody help me stop him, he stole my purse!

SCHAFER: Lady's screaming for help. What do you do? You just stand around? No.

FLEANER: Schaeffer said he chased the suspect outside through the field about a half a mile until the police showed up.

SCHAFER: I even joked about it and said, yes, you guys got a job for me because I'm probably going to lose mine.

FLEANER: And that's just what happened. Friday, Schaefer said his store manager fired him telling him a company policy prevented employees from chasing anyone suspected of a crime.

With her purse now safely on her arm, Ann Welch says that's completely unfair.

WELCH: I came to Randall's this morning, early this morning, to talk to the store manager. And they said it was out of their hands, it was a policy.

SCHAFER: You can't just sit back and say, oh wait, there's a policy. I can't help you.

FLEANER: Now, as he walks away from that field, Schaefer is without a job waiting for help himself.

SCHAFER: They told me that I could reapply in six months. By then, I will have lost everything. I don't have six months.

WELCH: I just wish the Randalls Corporation, when they hit their knees at night in all sincerity, how can they -- they need to ask God, did they do the right thing?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: So, I called the manager. He sent me to Connie Yates with Randalls. She e-mailed me and said that they recognize Troy's good intentions but they've got the "no chase" policy in place to protect customers and employees that people have gotten hurt this way in the past and that safety is the overriding focus. So, apparently, there's no bending the rules. Just proofs that the best thing and the right thing aren't always the same thing, I guess.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

Her family allegedly abandoned her when she needed them the most. The disturbing aftermath of an already shocking crime raising an international outcry. But now the father of that little girl gang- raped in Phoenix, well he's telling a different story.

CNN's Thelma Gutierrez spoke with him for a "SIT ROOM" piece that she's working on for tonight.

Thelma joins us live with a preview. What happened, Thelma?

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, I can tell you that that father went with an elder from the Liberian community. They met with CPS yesterday. He says he wants his daughter back. He said it was a big misunderstanding. He does want that child back. However, we can't disclose the exact contents of that meeting but we can tell you that CPS says they will go through a very careful process before any reunification takes place.

PHILLIPS: And, of course, everybody's concerned about that little girl, Thelma. Is she OK? Is she doing well? Can you tell us anything about her situation?

GUTIERREZ: Kyra, I talked to someone with CPS. I can only tell you that she is safe. She is getting the medical and psychological attention that she needs.

But we can also say that we talked to people in the community, we talked to police. Their big concern is that you have a child who went through this terrible trauma. And the people that she would typically turn to for help, her mother, her father, siblings, are the people who were actually taken away from her. And they're very concerned. They say, what is in the best interest of this child? Is it to be reunited with her family or is it to remain in foster care, as she is right now. Very hard question.

PHILLIPS: Well, we're going to definitely stay on top of the story. We appreciate you being able to bring us up to date, Thelma. I know you're working on a piece -- you can actually catch Thelma's full report in the third hour of the "SITUATION ROOM," that's starting at 6:00 p.m. Eastern.

Thelma, thank you so much.

And we'll continue to follow up the story on that 8-year-old girl there in Phoenix, Arizona, hoping that she is put in a safe home.

That does it for us. We'll be back here tomorrow. T.J. Holmes in for Rick Sanchez and he takes it from here.